Grand Blue Dreaming Of You
by Waid
Summary: This takes place after episode 12 of Grand Blue Dreaming Anime. Revolves around Iori Kitahara and Chisa Kotegawa and their budding romance. What happens when the two start developing feelings for each other? Will they muster up their courage to confess? Would someone else come in between them? Sakurako, Naomi, Kohei, Aina and many more! Iori x Chisa fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome! I have read countless fanfictions, and this will my the first one that I will be writing! This will be about Grand Blue – a manga turned anime that I instantly fell in love with. This story will mainly revolve around Iori Kitahara and Chisa Kotegawa and their budding romance. The story will not dive straight into it though so do not fret! I have so many ideas for this! 😊 The story will take place right after episode 12 of Grand Blue, so please watch that before reading this story! And again, it is my first fanfiction so do go easy on me I'll try to do my best! Without further ado here it is…

Iori Kitahara – Age 20 (College student)

Kohei Imamura – Age 20 (College student)

Chisa Kotegawa – Age 20 (College student)

Aina Yoshiwara – Age 20 (College student)

Azusa Hamaoka – Age 21 (College student)

Nanaka Kotegawa – Age 25 (Diving instructor)

Shinji Tokita – Age 23 (College student)

Ryujiro Kotobuki – Age 23 (College student)

 _Italics – Dreaming/ Flashback/ "telepathy"?_

On the airplane, on the way back from Miyako,

The whole PAB gang were chatting animatedly about their time in Miyako. Even the dynamic duo Iori and Kohei were talking peacefully. Well until…, Kohei had a smug smile and said to Iori, "My pocket feels heavy Kitahara, I wonder what it could be…", and pulled out his driver's license. A tick mark appeared on Iori's head as he started to pull Kohei's ear and yelled "SHUT UP! EVEN WITHOUT MY LICENSE I AM STILL A BETTER DIVER." The surrounding passengers turned and looked at time. Kohei retaliated by pulling Iori's hair, "KEEP DREAMING IDIOT SINCE THAT'S ALL YOU ARE GOOD AT." At this point the passengers had sweat drops on their head. Aina sighed and looked towards Azusa and said, "Those two always find something to fight about don't they." "C'mon Aina-chan this much should be normal for you now" "That is true…, but they shoul-" "And you are a lot more fun when you are drunk you know" Azusa added with a cheeky smile. Aina turned beet red and steam came out of her ears and started to stutter she recalled the "fond" memories of last night. Azusa simply laughed at her as she turned even more red, "You wanted to enjoy your youth, too didn't you?" she continued to tease her.

Nanaka laughed at the scene in front of her. She turned and looked at Chisa, who was looking through the photos she printed, deep in thought – a look of longing was evident on her face. "She really has been really quiet ever since we boarded the plane." Nanaka muttered, concerned for her sister. Aina snapped out of her trance, "Yeah, I tried to talk to her, but she only replied with one or two words." Chisa didn't hear any of what her friends were saying. She was focused on one photo, it was a selfie of her and Iori in their wet suits, sitting on the edge of the boat, arms around each other's shoulder smiling brightly at the camera while Iori was giving a peace sign. A light blush appeared on her cheeks as she recalled that day. _The whole gang was on a yacht. Today was the day they were going diving. "The air is so cooling and fresh!" Aina said to Iori. The two were looking out of the yacht enjoying the scenery. However, Iori couldn't hear Aina through the loud sounds of the wind and waves. He leaned in towards Aina so their faces were centimetres apart and shouted "WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU CAKEY!" Aina immediately turned red and pushed Iori's face away with her hands and yelled "THAT'S TOO CLOSE YOU IDIOT!" "Heh, the amateur is getting excited" Kohei mocked. "I CAN HEAR THAT YOU BASTARD!" Nanaka then came up and asked for them to gather. "Alright we are going to dive to 17meters deep for 40minutes. So, everyone, please get ready!" As soon as she finished, the PAB seniors all started to take off their pants. "OKAY OKAY LETS GO CHANGE IN THE DRESSING ROOM INSTEAD!" Aina said exasperatedly "So Kitahara, what are you going to do? You need a license to dive 17meters?" Kohei asked. "Don't worry about me, the rest of the passengers are letting me join their trial dive for the first and second dives." "How about the third dive? Everyone is planning to go for three dives…" Aina chipped in. "Well I guess I'll just wait on board." "M-Maybe I should ask them to let me join the trial dive instead…, im not confident that I'll be able to dive properly." Aina questioned meekly. "Nonsense! You will do just fine! I am confident in your abilities! And you have her with you as well!" Iori replied while pulling Chisa in front of him. "The ocean here is so beautiful here, you should go as far as you can" he continued. Chisa eyed Iori carefully as he left them to join the trail diving group. He turned back and added on with a smile "Bye. Make sure to have fun!"_

 _One by one the rest of the group jumped into the water. "Go slow alright and stay calm. Now let's equalize pressure." Nanaka, the diving instructor said. After doing that, they all dived down into the depths. "The ocean is so beautiful…, so many different species of fishes, turtles and aquatics plants." Kohei thought as everyone stared in awe at the magnificent sight that was the ocean. They found a baby turtle and its mother swimming together. Everyone swam towards the pair. Chisa took out her camera and started to take photos of it. Meanwhile above them was Iori, looking down at them, with a wistful smile on his face. At the depth he was at, there were not many things to look at. Still, it was a sight to behold. Awhile later, everyone was back on board, taking off half of their wet suits. "The turtles got really close didn't they!" "That was amazing!" "We were lucky to see a parent with a child." "Its as amazing as 2D!" "Were you able to see it Iori?" Tokita-senpai asked. Iori replied with a smile, "No, it's too bad." "Well then come on here! We took pictures" Tokita-senpai replied and showed him the picture Chisa took. "Woah, I wish I could've seen that up close!" Kohei came up with a pompous smile and said "Well if you had you license you could have. Work harder next time junior." "Hearing you say that of all people really ticks me off." Iori replied while holding up his fist. "Come here guys, lets share what we saw just now!" Azusa said. They sat down together in a circle and began sharing what they saw. "Did you see that jellyfish just now?" … "Oh! How about the school of colourful fish?" … Iori looked around and found that everyone was engrossed in their own conversations. He couldn't help but feel left out. "Well I'll get the tea then" Iori stood up and let out a sigh. Chisa looked up at him and immediately felt a pang in her chest as she realised that Iori was being left out on all the conversation. As Iori left, she eyed him all the way. She wanted to call out to him, but she was too shocked, never had she ever seen the usually hyperactive teen look like that…_

 _It was now time for the second dive. Everyone wasted no time as they were eager to witness the beauty that was the ocean. While they were diving, Nanaka pointed up. "It was the turtle and her child from before." Chisa thought, "It looks just like the aquarium…" She recalled Iori at the aquarium looking in awe at all the sea animals and then she recalled what happened just now, Iori's mournful face as he let out a sad sigh then she recalled Iori as he came back from the aquarium, "Next time I want to see the ocean up close…" She turned back and looked around for Iori, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted him a few meters above her. "He can't see it from over there…" Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her ears. A few minutes later, everyone was on board again, talking animatedly about their second dive into the cerulean paradise. "Eh? Wheres Iori?" asked Azusa "Oh, he said he was going to rest on the deck" Tokita-senpai responded. "Oh, I see. Iori has been quiet today." "You're right" Kotobuki-senpai added in. "Maybe he is feeling sick?" Chisa couldn't take it anymore, she stood up and walked to her sister, Nanaka. "Onee-chan, I'm going to skip the third dive." "Oh, what happened Chii-chan?" "Nothing much, my ear aches abit." She waited till everyone else went for their third and final dive. When they were finally gone, she went to find Iori, half-expecting him to be drinking some beer or whatever. However, she found him sitting cross legged facing towards the ocean. To Chisa, it looked as if Iori was really depressed. Chisa looked around to make sure there was no one nearby and struggled to think of what to say to cheer up Iori. "You know Iori, it's too bad you couldn't dive with everyone today, but this isn't the last time we will go diving together." She squeaked out. After getting no response from Iori, she added "We're going somewhere shallow tomorrow where you can do more trial dives." Still getting no response, she started getting anxious and continued, "That's right!" as she started to wave her arms around, "I got tickets to the aquarium at work the other day! If you want-" "Chisa." Iori finally spoke. She waited for him to continue nervously._

 _He turned around, face green and scrunched up with his hand cupped over his mouth, "You know…, the boat really rocks back and forth…" "Huh." Chisa deadpanned. Iori fell over and curled up in a fetal position, "I should have taken the motion sickness pills like they told me to." Chisa on one hand felt really embarrassed as she made a big deal about this but on the other she was glad that he wasn't moping around. "So, are you just seasick?" "What do you mean "just"? I feel horrible!" Iori retorted. Chisa facepalmed and went to make some hot coffee for them. "A-Ah thank y-you Chisa." Iori said trembling, still feeling the effects of seasickness. "Well you know Chisa, you're a good woman." "What? What are you talking about" She asked, obviously confused. Iori gave a big smile, "You were thinking about me when I was left here alone. Chisa blushed and averted her eyes from Iori, "Well, not really…" "Don't worry, Chisa. I'm not going to hate anyone just because of this." Wind blew towards them, causing their hair to fly everywhere. "Diving is amazing," he continued. "I never imagined it'd be fun on the boat as well." "The boat?" questioned Chisa. "Yeah, when you guys were talking about what you saw underwater, eating lunch together, feeling the breeze and sunlight while the boat moves, and just us talking about this…, its fun you know!" Iori explained with a million-watt smile, "It feels amazing!" Chisa averted her eyes as she blushed once again. "It's too bad I can only participate in the trail diving, but I want to come again" "I-I see…" Chisa was still feeling the effects of earlier, this Iori was so much different then the Iori she knew. It was a welcome change for her. "You didn't go on the third dive either, so you would want to come again too, right?" "Well, yeah…" She gave a cheeky smile and pointed at Iori, "If you treat me." "Well I don't have much you know, maybe if I win the lottery." He laughed. "Then I'm not going to get my hopes up." She replied jokingly. "C'mon, lets take a photo together!" Iori suggested, "lets remember this trip forever alright?" Chisa blushed again for what seems like the thousandths time today. "S-Sure Iori." She took out her camera as they got into their positions. Iori rested his hand behind her neck. This caught Chisa by surprise, but after a few seconds, she did the same. They both gave their widest smiles into the camera that Chisa was holding and Iori gave a peace sign. *click* Chisa looked at the photo, "here, Iori, look." "Woah!" Iori gasped "What is it?" asked Chisa. "You should smile more you know, Chisa. You look really cute here." Iori gave her a thumbs up. Chisa turned a new shade of red and looked at her feet, "baka."_

"Chii-chan, Chii-chan," "Huh?" Chisa snapped out of her flashback and looked around, to find Nanaka shaking her shoulder. "We have already landed Chii-chan, are you okay?" Nanaka asked, concern lacing through her voice. "Y-Yeah I am fine, just a little tired I guess…" With that they walked out of the plane with the rest of the gang. "Its good to be back…" voiced out Azusa, "Definitely!" "NOOOO WE WANTED TO STAY LONGER THERE" Kohei and Iori both cried out, with waterfalls coming out of their eyes. "C'mon you two, lets go home, everyone is tired" Aina said with a sigh.

Authors Note: Annnnd that's chapter 1. Abit of a slow start, I know, but I don't want this story to be short, I want it to go on for quite a bit. Anyways, until next time! Please rate and review! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I dont own Grand Blue Dreaming

Chapter 2

Iori pushed open the doors of the diving shop, Grand Blue, "We are home!" "Ah welcome back home guys!" Toshio Kotegawa, Chisa's father, said. "Cmon, have a seat.", "So, how was the trip?" He asked everyone. Immediately everyone started to explain the exciting things that they had done. "We went diving and saw so many different kinds of sea animals, it was so magical…" Aina started off with a dreamy look on her face. "We also saw a sea turtle swimming with her child." Nanaka added on. "Really? That's quite rare you know? You guys are lucky!" Toshio explained. "So, did you guys do Otōri*?" he asked. Iori and Kohei's faces immediately paled and Aina's face turned cherry red. The rest of the members just howled in laughter. Chisa bit down on her lips as she tried her best to not burst out laughing. In the end it was to no avail as she too, burst out laughing. "So, I guess you guys did, and? What happened?" Since no one had calmed down from their high, Chisa decided to pass her camera over to her dad. "AH, I AM FEELING QUITE TIRED AFTER A LONG FLIGHT," Iori abruptly stood up comically, "HA-HA, ME TOO KITAHARA I AM GOING TO GO SLEEP NOW" Kohei followed suit and both walked stiffly towards Iori's room. "A-Ah, I, d-don't think I am feeling t-too good, I-I think I should g-go rest too," Aina managed to murmur out through her quivering lips. Although despite not looking her best, she managed to dash away so fast there was a smoke cloud behind her. Their antics only made the rest laugh harder.

As Toshio skimmed through the photos, he found an _interesting_ photo. It was of Aina holding a bottle of vodka in one hand and the other trying to pull off Iori's boxers as he tried to escape. "HAHAHA, this certainly is intriguing!" Toshio exclaimed. At this point most of them had sobered up and were ready to tell the tale. Azusa started off, "Well, it started when we got back from diving…"

 _The PAB gang was walking back to their temporary home, they just finished their diving expedition. Leaves crunched beneath their feet as they walked. Iori rubbed his hands together for warmth, "Its only late fall and its already this cold." A gust of chilly wind blew into his face has soon as he said that. The two muscular men of the group, Tokita-senpai and Kotobuki-senpai were leading the group. The cool breeze did not seem to bother them the slightest as they were chatting away animatedly. Following behind them were Azsua, Nanaka, Kohei and Aina who were also babbling amongst themselves, oblivious to the weather. "H-How are t-they not cold?" A voice called out beside him. Iori turned and looked at Chisa who was hugging herself, shivering. Deciding to be a gentleman, he handed over his overshirt to Chisa, "Here, wear this." Chisa looked up at Iori, "Won't you get cold too Iori?" "Don't worry about me Chisa," he smiled. "I'm a big boy, a little cold won't keep me down." Despite saying this, Chisa noticed Iori's lips quivering even though he was trying to hide it. Chisa narrowed her eyes, "Well, if you say so." Iori's nose burned in the frigid air, as he tried his best not to let his expression show. "Dammit, you can hold it in" he chided himself… "AAAACHOOOO" "shit" He facepalmed mentally. Chisa smirked, "Didn't you say you could handle the cold? Big boy?" "O-Of course I can, that was e-er, t-there was a feather in my face!" He exclaimed. "C'mon here Iori." Puzzled, Iori walked over to Chisa. "If we walk closely together you will be less cold right…?" Chisa managed out, cheeks flushed. "I-I er yeah…" Iori's breathing quickened, his heart started to race, and Goosebumps started to form on his skin. Chisa slowly wrapped her arms around him, he was shivering. Chibi Iori was doing back flips in his head. "I have never in my twenty years been so close to a girl!" He too, managed to carefully wrap his hands around Chisa, so that there was virtually no space between them but not to the extent that she would feel uncomfortable. Chisa was chewing at her lips at the close contact that they were sharing._

 _"Ahem…" Iori and Chisa were snapped out of their daydream and found Aina and Kohei staring at them. Azusa, Kotobuki-senpai and Tokita-senpai had large grins on their faces with Azusa giving Iori a wink and a thumbs up. Kohei's eyes and mouth opened wide with disbelief, not because Iori was getting close to a girl, but because that girl was Chisa. Usually Chisa would stay at least a hundred meters away from Iori if possible but now… "A-Ah you see…, this isn't what it looks like!" Chisa stammered. "Y-yeah, you know, we both got cold, so we thought…" Iori explained. "UH HUH" everyone exclaimed. "Urg! I don't care anymore!" With that, Aina stomped off. Before anyone could go after her, an ominous feeling washed over everyone. With great resolve, everyone turned their heads towards the source of the killing-intent. It was Nanaka. Iori gulped and a bead of cold sweat travelled down his spine. Nanaka wore a smile that would normally melt Iori's heart but now he wished a hole would just swallow him up. "Neh Iori-kun…" "Y-Yes? Nanaka-san." Iori quivered at the intense gaze of Nanaka. With smile still plastered on her face, she walked slowly towards Iori. Everyone else except Chisa ran away towards the direction that Aina went off to. "Nee-chan its not what it looks like!" Chisa exclaimed unwrapping her hands from Iori. Instantly she missed the warmth that came from Iori. "We were just cold, so we figured we would do this to warm up!" Chisa gabbled out. Iori was still rooted to the ground unable to move. Nanaka's beautiful face scrunched up, deep in thought. Meanwhile Iori was sweating bricks, his heart was going to burst out of his ribcage. He remembered Tokita-senpai and Kotobuki-senpai telling him that Nanaka was a siscon. "I'm going to die! I'm actually going to die!" He thought. "Oh, was that it?" Nanaka asked. "Huh." Was the what Chisa and Iori collectively said. "I'm glad both of you are closer now. Last time all you guys would do was fight. I'm glad." Nanaka explained, "Now then, lets join up with the rest." With that she turned and walked off with Chisa and Iori following close behind. "What was that about Chisa?" "Don't ask me."_

 _When they reached their temporary house, they found the whole PAB club there. "Okay since everyone is here, listen up. It's about Otōri. One of the main reasons we came to Miyako." Tokita-senpai began. "The restaurant we were planning to go to is closed, so we have to cancel those plans." Kotobuki-senpai continued. Iori and Kohei sighed in relief. "Otōri means endless drinking, right?" Aina asked. "Yeah," replied Iori, "We escaped an endless World Championship." Kohei added on, content with what had happened. Iori added on with a satisfied face "It's going be a peaceful night in Miyako tonight-" "BUT, we don't come to Miyako every day!" Tokita-senpai interrupted Iori. "So, let's do our own Otōri!" Kotobuki-senpai exclaimed. Iori looked at Kohei and nodded. They set off in a full sprint towards the door like their lifes depended on it-it probably did. Just before they reached the door, Tokita-senpai grabbed their shoulders, "Now…, freshmen don't get so crazy…" They turned around, to see Kotobuki-senpai sitting on top of a huge pot with a huge "grin" that made him look like the devil incarnate "Well then. Let's begin." He said sinisterly. Iori and Kohei tensed up and gulped, accepting that their fate had been sealed. "What do you mean our own Otōri?" Iori asked. "Don't get so agitated, we're about to explain." Answered Tokita-senpai. "Basically, we're going to drink from the same pot," Kotobuki-senpai explained and pointed towards the 4-foot pot he was sitting on top of earlier, "And since it's hard to find a drink that everyone likes, and it would be sad if not everyone has a good time, so," "WE ARE GOING TO DRINK SOMETHING EVERYONE HATES!" Both senpais exclaimed together. "That's what you're doing to be fair?" Kohei and Iori deadpanned. "Everyone will have to take turns to spin and pour in your drink and say a few words, like, this is for the beautiful island or something." Tokita-senpai began. "We're going to say a few serious things first." Kotobuki-senpai added._

 _"We all came from different places, but we have gathered together in the same place." "I'm glad we could ride on the same boat and drink from the same pot." "Everyone here is a comrade and a friend." "Even if life leads us down separate paths, the time we spent together will never disappear. Let's treasure today and never forget the memories of our youth!" Then, they started to pour in their drinks. Everyone was shocked. No one thought that the 2 easy going senpais were capable of such a speech. "That was a great speech senpai," Iori voiced out, "I never thought you were- 96PERCENT ALCOHOL?" "NO NO NO. That's a bit too much don't you think senpai." Kohei exclaimed. "YOU IDIOTS! THE HELL DO YOU MEAN MEMORIES OF YOUTH! YOU WON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING AFTER DRINKING SO MUCH!" Kohei and Iori both shouted out. They watched on helplessly as another senpai started to pour in more 96percent alcohol. "Oi, oi, you really don't want us to remember, tonight do you?" Kohei exasperated. Another senpai came up to the pot, "I've spent all my time studying chemistry, so I don't really know what to say at times like these. So, at least, I'm going to do whatever I can!" He held up a bottle of ethanol. "DON'T PUT THAT IN!" Kohei and Iori exclaimed once agin. "Ha ha ha, I was just joking. Of course, I wouldn't put that in, if I put that in, the alcohol percentage would go down." "Kitahara, if we do a toast with that, there's no chance we'll survive!" Kohei whispered. "Its ok Kohei, lets put in some water and act like nothing happened." "Yeah, lets lower the alcohol percentage to a safe level. "Hey Iori, Kohei! Its your turn!" Kotobuki-senpai called out. "Okay!" "Sure!" Iori walked towards the pot, "WHAT THE HELL, ITS ALMOST FULL!" Out of surprise and fear, he stepped back and accidentally elbowed one of the senpai on the nose. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" Iori immediately apologised. The senpai waved him off, "Don't worry about it, now go say your blessings and pour in your drink. No one in PAB would get mad over something as trivial as that." Kohei let out a sigh of relieve, "Ok then, I'll put in my drink." Kohei began to uncap his bottled water to pour in when a strong hand grabbed him. "OI KOHEI! KNOCK IT OFF!" "Elbowing you is okay, but not this? You're getting mad about the wrong thing!" Kohei defended himself. "E-Er how about this then?" The duo held up a small pot that read 60percent alcohol. "Well, I guess we can accept that." "Wait you guys, you have to say a few words first." Tokita-senpai reminded them. "Oh! That's right." Said Iori._

 _Kohei began to look around frantically, "What's wrong Kohei?" Iori asked. "I can't come up with anything to say." He replied while biting his nails. "Dammit, what should I do?" Kohei said while moping in a corner. "Well, why don't you introduce yourself?" Iori suggested. "Oh, I see! I can say my name, my hobby, and my favourite quote." "Okay freshmen! Let's hear a few words." Tokita-senpai said. "Name, hobby, favourite quote…, name, hobby, favourite quote…, name, hobby, favourite quote…" Kohei chanted under his breath. Iori cleared his throat. "Thanks to this club, I realized how great—" "Kohei Imamura!" "—is, even though I used to hate it. Even though I got dragged into—" "Anime and games!" "—at first, I think it's really great now. I'll work hard so that someday, I'll be able to say—" "Kohei-oniichan, marry me!" "—I'm going to do my best!" "KNOCK IT OFF YOU IDIOT!" Iori shouted while smashing the small pot of alcohol onto Kohei's head as he continued to bash Kohei with words, "YOU RUINED MY HEARTFELT SPEECH BASTARD!" "That was a good speech huh? Kotobuki." Asked Tokita-senpai. "Yeah, they talked about how they grew closer to each other." Kotobuki-senpai replied._

 _"Does everyone have a cup?" Tokita-senpai asked. "Look, Kitahara," Kohei showed Iori his phone, "this shows how to do Otōri the right way." "What? That means…" "Yeah. We don't have to drink like this!" With that the duo walked confidently towards Tokita-senpai and Kotobuki-senpai. "Senpai, look at this, it's about Miyako Otōri." Both senpai leaned down to take a closer look at the phone. Kohei continued, "The leader says a few words and takes a drink. After that, everyone drinks when it's their turn. Finally, the leader drinks again, and says a few words again before switching with the next leader. This repeats for each person." "Oh, I see" Tokita-senpai said, "That means…, we have to do at least twelve toasts!" Kotobuki senpai continued while everyone one else started to pour in even more alcohol. "We don't have enough alcohol for that, let's just put all this in." Another senpai added._

 _"I *ow* didn't *ow* expect *ow* that *ow* to *ow* happen *OW*" Kohei managed out while getting slapped around by Iori. "Well screw it! We're used to strong drinks!" Iori exclaimed. "You're right, the only thing now is the strength of mind to avoid drowing in alcohol!" Kohei added on._

 _*10minutes later*_

 _"That's great guys!" "Yeah that's it!" All the senpais cheered for Iori and Kohei as they danced on top of a table, arms around the others neck chugging down more alcohol – not to mention they stripped down to their boxers. While they are enjoying their drinks, further back in the room sat a group of four, Chisa, Aina, Nanaka and Azusa. "We've seen this many times before." Aina said with a small smile. Chisa look towards the group of boys with disapproval and let out a sigh. "They look like they're having fun." Mentioned Nanaka. "This is so relaxing." Azusa chimed in. Tokita-senpai let out a grunt, "Whats wrong?" asked Kotobuki-senpai. "We're out of booze." He replied "Huh, already?" Iori asked. "That's no wonder, you guys drank so much." Aina deadpanned. "Sigh, I'll go and buy some." Aina said. "Thanks, everyone else is drunk and you are the only one who brought a license to drive." Tokita-senpai said. Aina pointed at Iori, "It's too much for me to carry alone, so come with me." "Oh, of course." They got into a van that they had rented. After shutting the door, Aina realised that Iori was still in his boxers "Wait a minute. What are you doing?" Iori looked at his bare chest and apologised, "Oh, sorry. I didn't notice." – and proceeds to put on his seatbelt. Aina gave Iori a 'I'm so done with your crap' expression and hid her face in the palm of her hands, "I WASN'T TRYING TO TELL YOU TO PUT ON YOUR SEATBELT!"_

 _After they bought the booze…, Aina rested her head on the driving wheel, and started to whisper to herself, almost as if she was in a trance. "My first trip to a tropical island… Night has arrived, the sky high above and the wide sea has set me free…," she paused as she looked up at the vast, seemingly empty sky, "And, maybe that's why… this idiot went outside half-naked." And to her right was Iori trying to explain to a police officer that there was nothing going on in the van._

 _"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" Aina fumed as her and Iori stepped into the house with two boxes of booze. "C'mon, I didn't notice. Don't be mad." Iori apologised while scratching the back of his head. "What happened Aina?" asked Tokita-senpai. Aina pointed her finger at Iori while lashing out, "This idiot got out the car dressed like that!" "I couldn't help it, after drinking all that, I felt really warm." Iori explained. "Oh no wonder." Replied a fully naked Tokita-senpai, next to a fully naked Kotobuki-senpai and Kohei in his boxers. "It does feel liberating." Mused Kohei. "It happens a lot." Reassured Kotobuki-senpai. "WHY ARE YOU GUYS AGREEING WITH IORI?" "But, Cakey, think about it." Iori said. "What? And stop calling me that name." Retorted Aina. "A tropical island, a starry sky, going for a drive with a guy… These are the memories of youth you wanted right?" Iori said with a grin. Tick marks appeared on Aina's forehead. "Maybe if the guy wasn't a HALF-NAKED PERVERT!" Iori sighed and placed his hands on Aina's shoulders. "I see, sorry about that." "Do you understand now?" Asked Aina. "Yeah…, I do, but even for me… Going out fully naked is hard." Aina glowered down at him, "I wasn't trying to say you didn't strip enough! You guys don't have to take off your clothes when you drink, do you!?" The guys just looked at her blankly. "Stop looking at me like you don't know what I'm talking about!" "Hey, hey. Have a drink and relax." Azusa said with a smile while trying to console Aina whom now had smoke emitting from her nose. "You know what? I will!" Aina snatched up one of the two drinks Azusa had been holding. Azusa tried to stop Aina, "Wait! That's mine…" But it was too late, Aina had already began to chug down the drink. The effects are immediate – Her eyes glossed over, and she began to tip over, luckily, Azusa was quick enough to catch her before she hit the floor. "What was in the drink?" Questioned Kohei. "The left overs from the Otōri… I diluted it though…" "But it is probably still over 30 percent alcohol." Said Kohei. "But this isn't bad either." Iori said with a smile. "Yeah, its quiet now." Agreed Kohei. "Hm? You woke up Aina?" Kohei asked surprised. Aina had a dreamy look on her, now flushed, face. "Neh, Iori?" Aina asked with a timid voice as she slowly walked to wards Iori. "What's wrong Cakey?" "Iori, you are really dull, aren't you?" Aina slurred. "Huh? What do you mean? What's dull about me?" Kohei had a sneaky suspicion on where this was going. "You ARE dull. You didn't notice what I was trying to tell you!" Whined Aina. Iori's face scrunched up with confusion. Kohei spit out his drink as he heard this. "What are you talking about?" Asked Iori who was growing with confusion. "Well, I thought about it… You're so dull, so you wouldn't get it even if I told you," Whispered Aina. "I have to show you through my actions…" "Wait a minute C-Cakey, are we about to get the true end?" Questioned Kohei. "I can't take it anymore! If you don't get it no matter what I say! Then, I'll just-" With that, Aina grabbed Iori by the face and said in the most sinister tone, "I'll watch. Take it off." "Oh, so that's what you meant." Sighed Kohei. "W-Wait now that you say that-" Began Iori. "Oh, I see, I see. I guess I'LL TAKE IT OFF FOR YOU!" Said 'The devil incarnate' Aina. "W-Wait! Calm down Cakey!" Iori begged as Aina started to pull off his boxers. "Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds at it then." Kohei started to wave goodbye. "Where do YOU think you are going KOHEI?" Aina turned around, "You're NEXT!" While the duo was doing everything in their power to stop Aina from tearing off their boxers, the rest burst out laughing. *Click*_

"…and that's what happened." Ended Azusa. Toshio gave a hearty laugh, "Sounds like everyone of you had fun." Everyone gave a roar of approval. "Well, I'm sure all of you are tired, so go rest up!" "Yes sir!" Everyone collectively said as they returned to their respective rooms. "I'm glad Iori and Kohei showed up, things have become more interesting around here." Toshio mused.

Author's note: And that's it for chapter 2! I made it abit longer than chapter 1 and I also tried to add in more 'show not tell' into my chapter today since a kind soul told me that would improve the overall story. I'm glad about how this chapter turned out! Make sure to follow the story to make sure you don't miss out on future updates! And do leave a review, it helps to motivate me to write even more for you lot! Thanks for reading! Jaa-ne!

 _Otōri_ : it is a drinking custom in Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The custom involves one person offering a toast to each of several other people in a round.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Author's Note: EY! Welcome back my adored readers. I want to start off by saying a huge thank you to everyone that has read this fanfiction and especially the ones that wrote a review saying how much you enjoy the fanfic so far. It really makes me happy and I _internally_ do a little happy dance every time I get one. So keep it up with the reviews! I've also thought of the first main arc that I want to do, so stay tuned! Happy reading!

 _Italics – Dreaming/ Flashback/ "telepathy"?_

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* "Urg, is it already time for school?" Iori moaned. As he wakes up, slowly pulling the comforter off him and grasping every last moment of comfort, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and groggily stand up, dizzy and not fully with the world. "How I miss Miyako…" Thought Iori internally. He then proceeds to throw on clothes, nice ones, because people are always judging. He walks into the bathroom, to prepare for the day ahead. Iori picks up his toothbrush, applies some toothpaste and starts to brush his pearly whites. As he bushed, in the mirror, he noticed that his hair has grown quite a bit, "Might need to get a haircut soon…" He mused. After rinsing his mouth, he stepped out of his bathroom and walked towards the dining table, where Chisa, Nanaka and Toshio were waiting. "Good Morning guys." Said Iori. "Good Morning!" Came the collective response from everyone. He took a seat beside Nanaka. Eyes widening, Iori asked, "Woah, teriyaki chicken for breakfast? Did you make it Nanaka-san?" "No, no, Chisa-chan here made it." "Chisa?" Iori asked surprised. Chisa waved him off, "It was nothing much, anyway how does it taste." Iori took a mouthful of teriyaki chicken and shoved it in his mouth. Immediately, a burst of flavour hit him. He sat there, wide eyed, with a dreamy look on his face. "Well? How was it?" Chisa asked while looking at her feet, fidgeting with her sweater. Iori stood up abruptly and slammed his hands on the table, "IT'S AMAZING CHISA! IT IS SO FLAVOURFUL, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE SUCH A GREAT COOK!" Iori voiced out his enthusiasm. Taken aback by his statement, Chisa couldn't help but blush, "W-Well, I'm glad that you like it Iori." Chisa stammered, while sinking into her seat, she wasn't used to getting complimented by Iori. Toshio let out a hearty laugh, "Chisa here woke up extra early to prepare breakfast you know." "Really? Wow, thanks a lot Chisa!" "Don't mention it, I just thought it would be nice to prepare breakfast for once." Chisa muttered. "Well, you know Chisa, you would make a great housewife." Blurted out Iori. Blushing would have been no problem for her, but what she did was go as red as a beetroot and radiate heat like a hot pan. You could have cooked a three-course meal on her face. No-one could have missed it. "T-THE HELL ARE Y-YOU S-SAYING YOU I-I-IDIOT!" Chisa managed out, burrowing her face in her sweater. "Huh, did I say something wrong?" Asked Iori, scratching the back of his head. Nanaka giggled, "He is right you know Chisa-chan, you would make a great housewife." Chisa buried her head even deeper into her jacket. "Alright you two, let's stop teasing Chisa," He pointed at Iori and Chisa and continued, "And don't you two have to go to college now?" "Oh right, its almost time." Iori realised. "C'mon Chisa, we will be late if we don't go now." Iori called out as he swung his bag over his shoulders. "Mmhf…" "What's that Chisa?" "I'm coming…" Chisa groaned, her face still slightly red.

The sky was clear, clear—light blue painted through the horizon. Not a sign of one or two, big or small, white, fluffy clouds floating across the sky. And the wind—the wind is like nothing but calm air. Many people were either on their way to work or school. Chisa and Iori walked side by side, on their way to college. "So Chisa, are you enjoying college?" Iori asked. "It's been alright I guess. How about you?" "Er, well…," Iori recalled the fateful day where the colourful college life he had been dreaming of was dulled grey…

 _The day after the Izu Spring Festival…  
"Hey Kohei, I don't know if it is my imagination…, but isn't even one giving us a different look?" Iori asked. Kohei glanced back and saw everyone giving them a stink eye. "Yeah, I just realised." "I wonder why, I mean we're the same as usual…" By usual, he meant that both of them were still in their boxers. "Just go ask them directly if something happened Kitahara." "Me? Why don't you ask?" "Cough, it will be shameful if I called out to someone I didn't know and got ignored…" Kohei whispered. "Ah, I forgot, you are that kind of guy, but there's no way anyone would say something awful to someone they just met." "I don't know Kitahara, everyone seems pissed off at us for some reason." "Jeez, I'll show you how it's done." Iori turned around to a group of guys, took a deep breath and started, "Hey you guys free?" _

_"Don't talk to me so casually." One replied.  
"I'll kill you. You fucking pig." Another responded, while flipping him off._

 _Iori turned around and shivered, "You were right Kohei." "Oh, is that how it's done Kitahara-senpai?" Kohei asked with a smug face. "JUST NOW WAS A FLUKE! ILL TRY ASKING THE OTHERS!" Iori declared._

 _*5minutes later*_

 _"You should have stopped before your feelings got hurt Kitahara." Kohei said while looking at the sobbing teen next to him. "THERE IS SOMETHING OBVIOUSLY WRONG! WHY IS EVERYONE INSULTING SOMEONE THEY ARE TALKING TO FOR THE FIRST TIME?!" Iori exclaimed. "Clam down, why don't you ask Kotegawa?" "Chisa? Nah, that's impossible. With us being dressed like this, she will just glare at us like we are trash." Iori continued, "For starters, ever since the spring festival, her mood has been awful—" From the corner of his eyes he saw Chisa smiling brightly while giving him a wave. Iori turned back and shuddered. "WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING KOHEI?!" "How would I know?!" "And for some reason, I feel that the murderous intent around us just got stronger." Whispered Iori. "Kotegawa definitely knows something." Kohei added on. "Hey Chisa, do you have a moment?" Iori asked. "What is it that you need Iori?" Chisa said in an overly sweet tone. "Er, there's something I need to ask you…" Iori continued. "Now? I'm okay with you asking but…, we can talk at home whenever we want." Chisa continued while holding her smile. *CRACK* *SMASH* Kohei turned around to see the guys in the lecture hall cracking their hands and smashing their pencils on the table. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Kohei cried out internally. "O-Oi Chisa, TELL ME WHAT IS HAPPENING!" Iori begged. Chisa feigned ignorance and said "Oh, but I don't know anything though." "THERE'S NO WAY THAT'S TRUE IS IT!" Iori exclaimed. Iori took a deep breath and started over, "Please Chisa, you know something right?" "I keep telling you that I'm not involved." Chisa replied, still with her smile. "Huh—" Iori was interrupted as a scissor that was stabbed through a sheet of paper flew past him and embedded into the wall. "If you don't break up with Kotegawa Chisa you will be MURDERED." Iori read the note out loud. He pointed the note at Chisa, "You're not involved huh?" "…" "It says to break up with Kotegawa, but were you even dating in the first place?" Asked Kohei. "Ha? There's no way—" "Yes! Ever since the spring festival…" Chisa replied cheerfully. Iori turned to look at Chisa. "It looks like you will be killed if you don't break up with her." Kohei continued. "I don't understand what is going on, but I'll follow what the letter—" "Thank you Iori! For willing to put your life on the line for me…" Chisa interrupted with a smile. Iori turned to look at Chisa again. *CRACK* *SMASH* Kohei noticed that everyone in the lecture hall was only directing their murderous intent at Iori. "Hmm." "Huh? Whats wrong Kohei?" Iori asked. But Kohei was already gone. "By any chance, am I involved in any of this?" Kohei asked one of the many guys preparing to murder Iori. "No, we are only aiming for that perverted bastard over there." One replied in a gruff tone. "I see, I see…" With that Kohei walked off, "Well then, I just remembered something urgent that I have to attend to." Seeing this, Iori dashed towards kohei,_

 _"Well, let's not be too hasty now, KOHEI-KUN." They locked their arms in what looked like a tug of war.  
"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE WE ARE ACQUAINTED KITAHARA!"  
"AH, YOU'RE RIGHT, WE ARE LIKE BEST FRIENDS AREN'T WE?"  
"LET ME GO I'M NOT INVOLVED WITH THIS KITAHARA."  
"OH HO HO, YOU THINK I'D LET YOU GET AWAY?"_

 _Iori turned towards the group of savage animals, waiting to jump on their prey. "BY THE WAY, KOHEI, HAS IT BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE YOU STARTED GOING OUT WITH HAMAOKA AZUSA-SAN FROM OUMI WOMEN'S UNIVERSITY?!" *SMASH* *SMASH* "KITAHARAA?!" Kohei shouted with fear. Kohei grabbed Iori by the neck, "Now that we're in the same boat, let's think a way out of this situation together." Iori managed out. "YEAH. LET'S… someday I'll kill you." Kohei gritted out. "Hey Chisa—" "She ran away."_

 _"So, what did Kotegawa mean by ever since the spring festival." Kohei asked as they walked out for lunch. "I don't know, since we both passed out after drinking so much. Maybe she is still mad because we used those bouncy balls to flip up her skirt." Iori suggested. "Oi freshmen!" A voice called out. "Oh Tokita-senpai!" Iori said. "Senpai, we have a problem." Kohei added on. "Oh, I see whats going on." Tokita-senpai said after listening to their story. "Well, since both of you were passed out, you wouldn't remember what went on at the awards ceremony. Basically, after Chisa received the first-place award for winning the beauty pageant, she announced to everyone that she would like to commemorate her victory with her boyfriend which happened to be you." Tokita-senpai explained. "HUH?! Why would she do that?" Iori asked confused. "It was probably to repel the other guys that were going after her and to get back at you for flipping her skirt." Kohei explained._

"…" "S-Sorry about that…, I guess." Chisa apologised. Iori let out a sigh, "Well, its not like it matters anymore, the guys kinda excepted the fact that we are 'dating'." "O-Oh is that so…" Chisa muttered. A few more minutes of comfortable silence later, they reached the lecture hall. The duo made their way down the hall to find Kohei already waiting there for them. "Chisa? What are you doing here? Don't you usually sit like away from us?" Iori questioned. Chisa got caught off guard and stammered, "E-Er you know, I er…" "What's wrong with wanting to sit with friends?" She continued, trying to hide her surprise. "Oh, we are friends now huh?" Kohei mocked jokingly. "Fine! I'll go sit at the back then!" She huffed. She tried to walk off but Iori caught her hand, "C'mon Chisa, you know he was joking, you are more than welcome to sit here!" Iori said with a brilliant smile. "O-Ok, if you insist…" She relented. Iori sat in the middle, while Chisa and Kohei sat on either side of him. While the lecture was taking place, and everyone was taking notes, Iori's hand would sometimes bump into Chisa's. At first, Iori would say sorry and move away his hand, but after the seventh time, he just gave up and left his hand there. He thought for sure Chisa would chide him about touching her even if it was just a bit of contact. But to his surprise, Chisa didn't even mind the minor contact. "Oi! Kitahara?" Kohei whispered. "Hm?" Iori replied as he was snapped out of his musing. "Are you actually copying down notes? You usually just sleep through the whole thing." Kohei asked. Iori glaced at Chisa and turned back, "I guess it can't hurt to copy down some notes once in a while." "Maybe I'll do the same then…" Kohei decided. "…See you tomorrow. Dismissed." Said the lecturer. "That was the only lecture for the day right Chisa?" Iori asked. "Yeah, that's it for today." Chisa replied as she packed up her notes into her bag. "Hey Kotegawa?" "What is it Imamura-kun?" Chisa replied. "Could you continue sitting with us in the follow lectures? It seems if you are next to Kitahara, he starts to take down notes and when I see him taking notes, I feel motivated to as well." Kohei suggested. "Sure, I don't see why not, maybe the both of you can finally get some decent grades now." Chisa said with a sigh. "Hey! We already have some decent grades you know!" Iori retorted. "Like what? Getting 20 out of a 100?" Chisa smirked. "Anyway, we have a circle meeting today don't we?" Kohei asked. "Yeah, the senpais wanted to discuss something." Iori replied.

The trio stepped into Grand Blue, "We're back." "Ah, welcome back, Iori-kun, Chisa-chan, Kohei-kun." Said Nanaka while cleaning the tables. "Are the senpais not here yet?" Kohei asked. "Yup, it seems that they have a few more classes to attend to today." Nanaka replied and went off to the kitchen. They took a seat on the couch. "Well, what should we do while waiting for the senpais, Aina said that she's still on her way here." Iori asked. "We can do out homework while waiting for them." Chisa suggested, knowing that the two idiots next to her would disagree. "Yeah, why not." Came from Iori. "Huh, you want to do homework?" Asked Kohei and Chisa in surprise. "I mean, why not right, we have nothing to do now, and we are all from the same major, so we can just ask each other when we get stuck." Iori replied. Kohei and Chisa's jaw dropped, they couldn't believe it. "Oi, Kohei, what the hell are you doing." Iori demanded. Removing his hand from Iori's forehead, "Doesn't seem like you have a fever…" Kohei concluded. "There's nothing wrong with me." Declared Iori.

"Really? But you have been acting differently ever since Miyako…" Kohei trailed off.  
"Come to think of it you two have grown quite close…, are you sure you two are not in a relationship?" Kohei stared accusingly at Iori and Chisa.

Iori went stiff and Chisa laughed nervously. "H-Ha, of course not, Imamura-kun, why would anyone even think of dating such a perverted idiot like Iori?" Chisa said anxiously. Hearing this, Iori flinched. _"Damm, I know I am an idiot most of the time but…, hearing that from Chisa…, it_ _ **fucking** hurts for some reason… Its not even the first time she called me an idiot…"_

Seeing his friends staring at him, he gave an awkward laugh, "Yeah, why would anyone think of dating me…" He trailed off, looking at his lap. He suddenly became aware of the mood around him. Chisa worriedly leaned forward, "Are you oka—" "…after all, I already have my true love." He quickly interrupted.

"Oh really? And who is that," Kohei said with a frown.

"Oppai." Iori said confidently.

Chisa fell forward onto the table. While Kohei nodded, "Mm, that's the Kitahara I know." Iori let out a sigh, _"That was a close call…"_ "Anyway, how about we get started working on our homework?" Iori continued in a more cheerful mood. Chisa and Kohei, however realised that there was something off. Both eyed him wearily and took out their homework. Chisa was undergoing internal turmoil, as she berated herself for making an insensitive comment. When all this was taking place, none of them noticed Aina coming in. She heard everything. Her heart couldn't help but break into a million pieces when she heard Iori's confession. The way Iori's face contorted with what seemed like pain, the way his mouth quivered and the way his eyes darted around after realising the situation he brought upon himself. She wanted nothing more than to rush over to Iori and give him a big hug and tell him that he means the world to him. She wiped her wet eyes, took a deep breath and began walking towards the trio.

"Hello!" She greeted with a wave. "Oh Cakey! Finally, you came." Kohei said. "Hey they Aina, how was your day?" Chisa asked. "Do you have any homework?" Iori asked. "Yeah, I got a report that's due in a week." Aina sat down next to Iori and started on her report. She would frequently glance over to Iori to see if he was fine. But of course, Chisa took notice of this. She was aware of Aina's small crush on Iori so she shrugged it off. So, for the following hour, it was a study session, where everyone focused on their homework, only talking when they had something to ask. Nanaka smiled when she saw them hard at work, glad that Aina and Chisa were being a positive influence towards the usually rowdy Kohei and Iori. "We're back!" Shouted Azusa, Tokita-senpai and Kotobuki-senpai. "Oo, you guys are doing homework?" Tokita-senpai said. "Yeah, we're just finishing up." Iori said. "Good, good." Azusa applauded. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you lot about Oumi Women's University upcoming festival." Azusa continued as she handed Chisa an entry ticket. "Oh, they decided to use tickets this year." Chisa said. "Its to keep out the weirdos." Aina explained. "Getting hit on is annoying too." Azusa shrugged. "Plus, a famous Seiyuu is coming this year." Aina added. This caught Kohei's attention, "SEIYUU? WHICH ONE?" "Kaya Mizuki." Aina replied. Kohei eyes widened and got a dreamy look in his face. "K-Kaya M-Mizuk-ki…" "That's nice and all but I'll just stay back, I don't have much interest for that stuff." Iori said. "No, no Iori. This is a chance for the four of you to form a stronger bond." Azusa said. He was still not convinced. "Hm, think of it as getting a chance to meet cute girls." "Okay, when are we going." Iori suddenly stood up. "And besides, there is going to be a lot of flirting at school festivals isn't there? And since Iori is _technically_ Chisa's boyfriend…, he can ward off any flirting coming at Chisa!" Azusa noted cheekily. Nanaka appeared out of nowhere and clenched Iori's shoulders "Boyfriend, hu - k u n?" Iori's face became void of colour, he turned his head slowly towards Azusa pleading for help but to no avail as she turned her head away and started to whistle. "Let's have a talk later okay Iori-kun?" Nanaka demanded in a sweet tone. "O-Okay." Iori stuttered. With that Nanaka walked off. "OI AZUSA YOU TRIED TO GET ME KILLED!" Iori shrieked while shaking Azusa. "C'mon, c'mon, we both know that there was no way out." Azusa defended herself. Chisa, who seemed to be oblivious to what happened just now, said "That is true, if Iori comes with me, all the flirting would stop."

"Okay, now that that's settled, we need to talk about the license test, mainly for you Iori, since you missed out on the first one." Kotobuki-senpai started. "Oh yeah, my license, I got sick on that day, so I had to sit out." Iori said. "Don't worry Iori, the next license test is around the corner," Tokita-senpai continued, "And the rest of you will have to start preparing for your advance license course." "This time, the test wouldn't be as straight forward, although there is still a long way to go, it never hurts to start studying earlier." Kotobuki-senpai explained. "Now, lets relax and drink some alright?" Azusa suggested. "Actually, I got an idea." Aina said. Everyone looked at her. "How about, today, the girls do their own thing and the boys do their own thing?" "Oo, that seems like fun!" Nanaka said, once again appearing out of nowhere. "That would be a welcome change." Azusa mused. "No girls…? That means…" Iori whispered. The guys looked at each other "WE CAN GO ALL OUT!" They immediately ran off to get booze. Chisa sweat dropped at their antics. "Then it's decided!" Aina said, grinning from ear to ear. "The drinks will be whatever we have on hand!" Aina continued.

"Why are we going it my my room?" Chisa asked. "Won't it be more fun that way?" Aina giggled. "How about Nanaka's room?" Azusa asked. "Absolutely not~" She replied in a sing-song manner.

*Inside Nanaka's room*  
The whole room is decorated with Chisa. Countless pictures of Chisa. Chisa dolls. Cardboard printouts of Chisa. Chisa bedsheets. Chisa pillows. Chisa wallpaper on her computer. If you couldn't tell that Nanaka has a severe case of siscon, you can now.

Chisa shuddered involuntarily. "Hm, is there something wrong Chisa?" Aina asked. "Nothing, I just feel like I should be worried about something."

"Alright cheers!" *Clink* "Yup! This is a normal drinking party!" Aina cheered. "I'm glad that you're happy Aina-chan." Nanaka said. "Isn't this a little lacking for you Azusa-san?" Chisa asked. "That's not true, I'm a girl too." Azusa waved her off. "If you're talking about lacking though…" She continued. "What is it?" "Your room doesn't have any decorations at all." "I thought so too." Aina added. "Really?" Aina rushed over to her drawers. "Hm, but you do have makeup." "Onee-chan just put that there…" Chisa said. "That's because if I left her alone, Chisa-chan wouldn't do anything." Nanaka explained. "Is there anything else?" Aina asked. "A couple of clothes and such as well…" Nanaka dragged on. "Wooow~ Like what?" Azusa asked, eager to know. "It's a little embarrassing…" Chisa admitted while fidgeting.

"They are in Chisa's room?" Iori asked. "Yeah, Chisa told me before they went up," Toshio continued, "So could you bring these drinks up to them? You guys won't drink this light stuff, right?" "Sure, its no problem." "Sorry for interrupting your drinking session again." Toshio apologised. Iori waved him off, "Its fine, you are already doing so much for me." He climbed up the stairs to Chisa's room. _"A girls' party huh? Come to think of it I've never been to Chisa's room before… I wonder what they do at a girl's party…"_ He pushed open the door with one hand while the other was holding a tray containing the drinks, "Excuse me, Uncle sent me to give you guys some—" "She even got me some of _this_ underwear—" Chisa was holding onto a bra that had a _questionable_ design. They both looked at each other. Chisa's eyes widened into saucers and her face turned crimson red. Meanwhile Iori's face went blank. "…" "…" *THUD* Iori slammed the door and ran out. Chisa dashed out immediately and pinned him to the wall with her hands on either side of his face.

"Listen to me." Chisa began.  
"S-sure." Iori said while looking away  
"Listen, that was something Onee-chan bought, it wasn't mine…" Chisa explained.  
"…I see."  
"Do you really get it?" Chisa asked, sweating.  
"It's okay, I get it." Iori said while giving a knowing smile.  
 _"He's definitely misunderstanding!"_ Chisa realised.  
"Sorry to bother you while you guys were busy Chisa."  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BUSY?! YOU WEREN'T INTERRUPTING ANYTHING!" Chisa exclaimed.  
"It's okay. I won't come into your room anymore."  
"ITS FINE! YOU CAN COME INTO MY ROOM ANY TIME!"  
"I-I see. Well, I won't worry about it then." Iori apologised and left.

"Did something happen Iori?" Tokita-senpai asked. "I feel a little guilty…" Iori admitted. "I might have walked into something I shouldn't have." He explained. "Oh, that explains the shouting, anyway, lets drink on." Kotobuki-senpai said.

"Welcome back Chisa." Nanaka said. "Did you clear up the misunderstanding?" Aina asked. "I think…" "We could hear you from all the way over here." Azusa added. She smirked, "So..., Iori can come into your room whenever he wants eh?" "…shit."


	4. Author's Note

I'm sorry, I know this isn't a chapter but a little update. First of all, I want to thank all of you – my precious readers for showing your continuous support through this short period of time. Thanks to those who reviewed! Really means a lot to me! To all that favourited and followed, many thanks to you as well! But the point of this is to inform you that since my school is starting soon, I won't be able to update as frequently anymore, I had been doing updates every 2-3 days since I had no school. But this will go down to AT LEAST 1 update a week – no sloppy chapters though. If I have enough time, maybe 2 chapters, but no promises c: Again, this story is no where close to being finished, I plan for this fanfiction to be quite long so please bear with me. I know you guys want more Iori x Chisa fluff but all in due time! I promise 😉 the wait will be worth it. I got lots of ideas in my head, and maybe some plans to add drama into the mix, who knows? With that said, until chapter 4, Ja-ne!


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
Author's Note: Tried something new with this chapter. Let me know if you guys prefer it. Personally, I prefer writing in first person more, I should have just stuck to one pov but like I said, this is my first fan fiction so there are bound to be mistakes here and there. Also, this chapter is the start of something big I have planned later on hehe… A bit of a spoiler here, but next chapter will be Chisa's POV, so get ready for that I guess, because _somethings_ are going to go down… With that, thank you for reading, keep it up with the support and carry on uwu.

"…shit." Chisa cursed. "A-Ah, you know, that was to clear up the misunderstanding!" "Was it?" Azusa continued to tease her with a smirk. "Now, now let's not tease Chisa-chan okay?" Nanaka came to her rescue. Azusa pouted, "Eh, you're no fun." Aina took another gulp of her drink. Her cheeks already started to blush red from the alcohol that she had been drinking. "I THINK GOD IS *Hic* UNFAIR IN A LOT *Hic* OF WAYS!" Aina slurred. She squeezed her chest and wailed, "WHY ARE OURS SO SMALL?!" Chisa turned towards her in shock, "Ours?!" "Ahaha, I wonder." Azusa laughed while Nanaka didn't seem like she knew what anyone was talking about. Aina faced the two older women, "DID YOU DO SOMETHING SPECIAL?!" She begged. Meanwhile Chisa was brooding in a corner as she put her hand on her chest and muttered "Ours…" Azusa thought for a moment, "It was probably all the lewd stuff." She said with a cheeky grin. *PFFFT* Aina spit out all the drink that was in her mouth while Chisa stood up in surprise only to have her shin bang against a table. "R-REALLY…?!" Aina asked, her heart still hammering on her chest. "I'm joking, that's just my opinion though." Azusa laughed. "However, the growth is tied to female hormones isn't it? So, if you want to increase their production, that kind of stimulation might be best." Nanaka continued with a laugh. "It seems like it kinda makes sense…" Chisa concluded. "Huh? But that would mean…" Aina said and looked at Nanaka who still looked like she didn't know what was going on. "Ahh… Nanaka is…, well…," Azusa turned her head away, "Filled with familial love". A look of realisation dawned on Aina's face. But Chisa still had no clue of Nanaka's _attraction_ for her. "But, what I'm trying to say is that stimulation is important." "Right…" Aina sweat dropped. "SO…" Azusa suddenly got a cheeky smile on her face and her eyes gleamed with mischief as she wiggled her hands and came closer towards the two younger girls huddling together out of fear.

"Iori?" Toshio called. "Hm?" Iori placed his cup down and went to his uncle. "Sorry, but could you bring this up as well?" Toshio asked, holding a plate of sashimi. "Hm, what wrong Iori?" Toshio asked when he saw Iori deep in thought. "I was thinking it'd be wrong for me to keep intruding on a girls' only party." Iori responded. "Did they tell you not to come back?" "No, kinda the opposite, Chisa said I could come back anytime I wanted…" "Then there's no need to worry." "…I suppose that's true."

"Heeey, uncle sent some more—" In front of him was a sprawled out Aina covering her chest and a blushing Chisa that was getting groped by Azusa and Nanaka. "KUE EH?!" Iori spit out. "Oh, sashimi?" "Thanks, Iori-kun" Azusa and Nanaka said nonchalantly as if there was nothing wrong. "…" Chisa however was embarrassed, shocked and horrified at the same time. Without saying anything else, Iori ran away shutting the door behind him. Chisa, of course gave chase and pinned him to the wall for the second time that day. "I-I'll say this n-now. That was just a b-bit of a prank between g-girls." Chisa said, waving one hand around, keeping the other hand on the wall. "N-No, its fine, I understand." Iori said nervously. "NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT HOW STIMULATION—" Chisa stopped her rant and covered her mouth. "Ohhoho," Iori said with a visible smirk and a playful glint in his eyes. "Stimulation eh?". Chisa's cheeks suddenly kissed pink like a spring rose, she avoided Iori's intense gaze and looked down at her feet. Iori just continued to smirk at her, fighting back the smile that could break out at any moment. _"God, the blooming colour is so cute against her creamy skin… Fuck, the hell am I thinking of! Calm yourself!"_ Iori composed himself, " _So_ , Chisa, mind telling me what was going on in there?" Iori teased. "There's no way I can tell you! It's embarrassing!" Chisa whisper screamed, not wanting the others to hear what they are talking about. Feeling a little bold, Iori took Chisa's hands and pinned them to the wall. Chisa let out a surprised squeak, "I-Iori?" Chisa looked up with her eyes wide. Iori looked dead in her eyes, then slowly leaned forward… _"Huh? Whats happening?"_ Chisa thought to herself _, "Is Iori going to kiss me? NONONO! I'm not ready for any kind of relationship!"_ Her pulse increased, heart hammering against her chest, even with those thoughts she was too surprised to do anything. "Chisa… you need to stop being so damm cute…" He whispered huskily into her ears. Iori's breath sent shivers down Chisa's spine. Chisa couldn't think, her mind was blank, she wasn't prepared for anything like this, sure she had read romance novels before but this? This was too much for her. She felt Iori grip her hand tighter, maybe subconsciously, until the point where she felt pain. With haggard breath she managed out, "I-Iori? My h-hand." Immediately he let her go, and to his utter horror, there were red marks on Chisa's wrist. Iori slowly reached out to touch her wrist, he rubbed her slender wrist with his thumbs, but she flinched at the contact. Guilt rammed Iori like a truck, "Fuck, Chisa I didn't mean it I got carried away, I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot." He ran his hands through his hair. "I'll help you patch your hand up Chisa." "NO!" Chisa said. Iori was taken aback by her harsh tone. She couldn't blame him, she too, surprised herself at how forceful and angry she sounded.

Hurt. It was evident in his purple orbs. His hands slumped to his sides, letting out a defeated sigh, "A-Alright then, I'll just go now." Chisa watched his retreating figure. Her mind still wasn't caught up with what had happened all in the span of a minute and a half. Still holding her wrist gingerly, she walked back into her room. "Welcome back—" Nanaka stopped as soon as she saw Chisa's saddened face. "Chisa-chan what happened?" She rushed over immediately and enveloped her in a hug. Azusa and Aina stopped talking and went over to check up on their friend. "What's wrong Chisa?" Azusa asked worriedly. "Did that stupid Iori do anything to make you upset?" Aina asked. "I-I don't know…" Chisa confessed. "Then why don't you tell us everything that happened?" Nanaka said softly. And so, she did. By time Chisa told them everything, everyone had varying emotions. Azusa for one had her trademark smirk. "I'm sure its nothing to be stressed about, its normal, I'm sure everything will be back to normal by tomorrow." Aina and Nanaka nodded, "After all, Iori isn't the type of guy to hold a grudge." Nanaka added. "If you say so…" Chisa replied. "ALRIGHT! Enough of this sad talk, this is a girls' party! So, let's talk about _love_ ~" Aina declared. "Then let's start—" Aina stopped to look for someone to start off with. _"Chisa-out, no interest. Nanaka-out, not safe to talk about, me-out, no experience."_ "Azusa please start…" Aina said, deflated. "Ah, me?" "You seem like you'd have a lot of experience with this…" Aina clarified. "Hm, even if you say that…" Azusa muttered. "Then just tell us the most recent thing that happened to you." "Recent huh?" Azusa thought. She then continued, "Recently, I invited Iori to have sex." *Bam* Both Aina and Chisa fell to the ground. Aina had a horrified look on her face, trembling, she asked, "W-W-What happened?" Chisa struggled to get up, _"No, he couldn't have…But now that she said it, the two of them have become closer…"_ Chisa felt a tug in her chest as she thought about it. "Well, sadly I got turned down." Azusa sighed. "C-Could it be that Azusa likes Iori?!" Aina shrieked. "Hm?" Azusa looked at both younger girls, one was panicking visibly, the other was listening with unbelieving eyes and a troubled face. Seeing this, Azusa gave her trademark smirk, "Yeah I like him."

"…!"  
"…"

"What about you two? Do you guys like him? Hmmmm~" Azusa teased. "I-I'm uh—" Aina blushed "—Ahhaha, how about we get some drinks! It's a party after all!" Chisa looked confused, _"You two? Does Azusa mean onee-chan and Aina likes Iori?!"_ She tugged at her chest to try to rid of the uncomfortable feeling. "Cheers!"

*Iori's PoV*

And so, the night passed and dawn broke. I couldn't get a wink of sleep at all. I kept tossing and turning around trying to find a position which I felt comfortable in. However, no matter the positions, meditative exercises that I tried, the incidents of last night still burned fresh in my mind. To be honest, I have no clue what came over me, what had caused me to be so bold, to hurt Chisa… Even if it was by accident, I can't forgive myself. Now, as much as an idiot that I might seem, I have noticed the change in myself ever since Miyako, ever since Chisa and I got closer... It was a welcome change, I focus more on school and Chisa stopped giving me the 'burn in hell trash' glare, but… it's making me do stupid things. I have to set things right. I must set things right.

With my resolve of steel, I leapt out of bed, all the fatigue from a sleepless night vanishing away. That resolve came crumbling down when I bumped into Chisa while walking towards the dining table for breakfast. We stared at each other for what seemed like forever.

"Chisa—"  
"Iori—"  
"Sorry you go first—"  
"Sorry you go first—"

We both broke out in laughter. I let out a happy sigh. I was so relieved that the tension between us was broken. "Chisa, about last night…, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, I—" "Iori, its fine, I'm sorry that I yelled at you too, I didn't mean to lash out." "So, are we cool?" I asked. "Of course, …as long as you don't tell anyone what you saw." Chisa replied. I let out a nervous laugh. "Deal." With that we walked together to the dining table. Nanaka was waiting for us. "Good morning you two." "Good morning." "Hey where is Uncle?" I asked the older sister. "Dad had some business, so he went out early." Breakfast went on smoothly. If Nanaka knew about yesterday's incident, she did well to hide it. Chisa and I thanked Nanaka for the meal and make our way to school. It was uneventful to say the least, I mean how exciting could a walk to school be? We talked about little things, there wasn't much interesting things to say since we live together and almost do everything together. However, the walk to school wasn't awkward. As we made our way to the lecture hall, as usual Kohei was already waiting for us. "Oi Kitahara, are you feeling better?" He asked. Chisa tilted her head towards me. Running my hands through my hair I let out a nervous laugh, "Yeah, my headache got better, a good nights' sleep really helped." I lied. It's not entirely a lie though, after the incident, I told the guys that I would be crashing early because of a headache – which I did have. And after sorting things out with Chisa, it got better instantly. He nodded, "Alright then." Like yesterday, I took a seat next to Kohei and Chisa took a seat next to me and we got ready for class. Before we knew it, four hours passed. "Kohei, when's the festival?" I asked as we packed up. He gave me a shocked look, "KITAHARA! How could you not remember the day that an angel Kaya-sama is going to grace us peasants with her glory." I shot him a blank look. "IT'S TODAY YOU DIMWIT!" He exasperated. "Today huh?" I mused. I would be able to finally get some interaction with females. Chisa and the rest don't count. "Are you dreaming that you would be able to find some girls to flirt with? Don't forget that you are going there as my 'boyfriend'" Chisa reminded me. Then my resolution I made this morning popped up in my mind. I remembered that I had to _distance_ myself from Chisa and not get too attached to her.

It was about 6pm, everyone was getting ready for the festival. And since I was going to a women's university festival, I looked up on how to hit on girls. According to some site, it said to wear safe clothing that matches your surroundings and to read the atmosphere. So, if I overdress or dress too casual, it will be too obvious that I'm out to flirt. Then I remembered that I was going as Chisa's 'boyfriend' so there wouldn't be many chances for me to flirt with girls anyway. So, I put on a black V-neck, that I never wear, a pair of blue jeans and a belt. Then, I took some wax and gave my hair more of a messy look. And done. I looked myself in the mirror, not too shabby at all… With that, I walked out of my room and joined the others who were waiting. "Wow Iori, you look good!" Nanaka said. "She's right, you look really handsome." Azusa complemented. I could feel my cheeks turning red, I wasn't used to being complemented at all, much less by the opposite gender. "Really? I didn't dress up much." I admitted. "Mm, good job Kitahara, at least now you don't look like shit anymore." Kohei said. "I don't want to hear that from someone who is wearing fans on their head that says 'Kaya-sama'." "Sorry for the wait!" We all turned around to see Chisa… "You hate me don't you." I muttered. "Is there something wrong?" Chisa asked. "How do you expect boys to not hit on you when you are wearing that." I sighed. She looked absolutely stunning, she wore a pair of skinny jeans, an orange blouse that hugged her figure and heels. She could wear the simplest things and still look so beautiful. "She will be fine, after all you are going as her _boyfriend_." Azusa reminded. "I guess so…, but that means I won't be able to talk to other girls" I broke down. For some reason, her face scrunched up at the last part. "Alright! Let's go!" Kohei commanded enthusiastically.

"So, this is Aina and Azusa's school huh. Its huge" I commented. "Sure is." Kohei and Chisa agreed. "I'm glad that you two like it, follow me, the festival is this way." Azusa said. As we were walking towards the festival, we started to see more and more people, but that means more and more people were looking at our group. I don't blame them, when you have Azusa and Chisa in a same group, people are bound to stare, Kohei's costume didn't help either. I could see Chisa inching closer to me, probably uncomfortable from all eyes that were burning into her, looking with desire. I leaned towards her and whispered, "Hey, its fine, we are all here. If something happens I'll deal with it." She nodded, feeling, hopefully, better. After walking another five minutes, we reached the place we were supposed to meet up with Aina. "Cakey Café…" Kohei muttered. "Whats with that word that strikes fear into men…" I continued. Inside, it looked a hell lot better than what I thought it would look. "Guys! Over here!" A feminine voice said. Waving to us was Aina from a round table. "Wow Iori, who would have known that you clean up well." She complimented. That was the third compliment from a girl I have gotten today… Do I really look much better than what I used to look? "Never mind me, what's with this shop?" I asked. "Um, you see, the girls that are running the shop with us got all excited when they saw this picture." Aina handed us her cellphone.

"…"  
"WOULDN'T YOU USUALLY LOSE EXCITEMENT?!"  
"THEY'RE NOT JUST YOUR FRIENDS IN NAME I SEE!"  
"That's the girls you went to the mixer with, right?"  
"Yeah, Kohei and I went with our friends to the mixer that Aina helped make." I replied to Azusa.  
"What a nightmare."  
"It's actually amazing how they actually enjoy wearing something worse than clown makeup." I added.  
"Indeed." Kohei agreed.  
"I don't want to hear that coming from you…" Aina deadpanned.  
"C'mon, guys we are here to have fun." Azusa said.

"Maybe Kotegawa would avoid getting hit on if she looked like that." Kohei said.  
"Would you like to try helping out?" Aina asked.  
"It will be good flirting repellent." Kohei added.  
"That's unrelated to this."  
"Now, now, don't say that, Kohei is right you know." Azusa added.  
"PLEASE DO IT!" I begged.  
"Why are you so serious about it?" Chisa asked.

 _Before we left for Oumi Women's University, Nanaka pulled me aside for a talk she promised me. "So, Iori-kun, I heard you are going as Chisa's boyfriend."  
"No, no, no! You got it wrong, I'm only pretending to be Chisa's boyfriend, so she won't get hit on…"  
"Oh…"  
"So, do you understand now?"  
She gave a bright smile, I couldn't help but be nervous, scared and terrified at the same time.  
"That means Chisa would never get hit on at the festival would she…?"  
"A-ha, of course she wouldn't…" _

"Why? Don't make me say it." I begged.  
"Why not?"

I could never tell her about Nanaka being a siscon, their relationship would be destroyed. So, I thought of the best lie.  
"It's obviously because I want to see your ugly face."  
"Absolutely not."  
"PLEASE, JUST DO IT!"  
"No way."  
"THINK OF IT WAS TAKING PART IN A HAUNTED HOUSE!"  
"No."  
"YOU'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE FRIENDS HERE IF YOU DO!"  
"Denied."  
"YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THOSE FRIENDS INTO DIVING!"  
"…I guess I could consider it."  
She's too easy…  
"But it'll be embarrassing doing it alone!" Chisa blushed tomato red.  
"Alone?" Aina responded annoyed.  
"Cakey is doing it too, you know?" Kohei added.  
"That's not what I mean." She sighed.  
"She means that you two have to work alongside her as well." Azusa clarified.  
"So you mean you will do it!?" Aina asked excitedly.  
"Only if these two do it as well."  
"Well then, I need to go help prepare the stage, see you later!" Azusa bid farewell and walked out of the café.

Aina told Chisa to wait for her in the staff room while she gives us our uniforms. Chisa begrudgingly trudged off, muttering cuss words under her breath. Aina looked at us and said seriously, "Well, I will give you two an option, A, wear a maids' uniform or B, wear a butlers' uniform."  
"OBVIOUSLY WE WILL CHOOSE B! WHY WOULD WE WANT A!" We both yelled. She shrugged, "Hey, I heard some guys like to cross dress." "DO WE SEEM LIKE THOSE KINDS OF PEOPLE?" Kohei asked. Aina started to open her mouth. "Don't answer that." I stopped her. "Anyway, here are your uniforms, go get changed shoo!" She waved us off.

"Man, wearing this thing is a workout on its own." Kohei said. I nodded. Wearing this suit is a lot harder than it looks and because we didn't want to look sloppily dressed, we went the extra mile to make sure there were no uneven bits. But I can't say I don't like wearing this, since it was one of the few times I got the chance to dress up like this. But even with the air conditioning, it was way too hot to be wearing this.

"Chisa is really taking their time huh." I muttered.  
"Are you worried about your beloved girlfriend?" Kohei teased.  
"Keep talking, dumbass."  
"Now, now, they say a girl's preparation takes time."  
"As if you know…"

"Sorry for the wait!" Said Aina.  
"Come on, don't be shy!" Aina beckoned Chisa.  
"Urg…D-Don't stare too much…"  
Chisa stepped out in a maid costume, she was breathtakingly stunning, she even had a rose pinned to her hairband. That is until I saw her face… I started to clap, Kohei soon joined in, it was a standing ovation.

"Amazingly well done Cakey." Kohei applauded.  
"Only a true master could kill, no, slaughter her natural beauty like that." I added.  
"If I do say so myself." Aina said with a wink, obviously very proud of her creation.  
"HEY! WHAT THE HELL! WHY ARE YOU TWO NOT CAKED UP?!" Chisa demanded.  
We both smirked, "Well that should be obvious isn't it, you said 'only if these two do it' you didn't specify what."  
"I should have just declined…"

"Hey Aina! Who's the new girl?" A feminine voice chirped.  
"Oh hey Kanako!" Aina greeted.  
To me and Kohei's horror, we turned around to see some _familiar_ faces. "Shit"  
"A friend of yours, Aina?"  
In front of us stood three girls 'caked' up with makeup. Despite looking like clowns, if I recalled correctly, one of the girls is actually pretty. We saw one of those girls without makeup but since the difference with and without makeup is so drastic, I can't tell who it was. Although I have a sneaky suspicion that all of them are actually really pretty.  
"Nice to meet you, I'm Iida Kanako." Said the girl with brown hair and purple eyes.  
Ah, it was her…  
"I'm Suzuki Keiko." The one with red hair and brown eyes said  
"And I'm Kamio Kiyoko." Came the one with purple hair and blue eyes.

"There's no mistaking it Kohei… They are the demons from the mixer." I whispered  
"What do you want to—" Kohei was interrupted as the 3 girls came towards us.  
"How about them Aina, do you know them?" Kiyoko asked.  
"Yeah, who are these hot guys." Kanako purred.  
Aina visibly sweat dropped.  
Kohei and I leaned back as they were coming in too close.  
"These are the guys we went to the mixer with." Aina explained with a sigh.  
The 3 girls had shock written on their faces. Do they have terrible memory? I don't think me or Kohei changed that much just because we wore a butler's attire. We let out nervous laughs as realisation seeped into their faces.

"It c-can't be…" Kanako stuttered.  
"You are that Iori-kun and Kohei-kun?!" Kiyoko realised.  
"Yeah…"  
"Anyway…, I'm Kotegawa Chisa."  
The three girls had a disappointed expression for some reason.  
"Oh…, the infamous Chisa, you must be Iori-kun's girlfriend." Keiko said.  
"Ah, no, I'm not actually Chisa's girlfriend, I'm only pretending to ward off potential flirting." I explained.  
"Sorry for how the mixer turned out by the way," Apologised Kanako.  
"Why is that?" Kohei asked.  
"Ah, it's been a while, so I guess we'll come clean." Kiyoko said.  
"You see back at the mixer, Aina told us to 'Make this mixer fail no matter what.' Kinda wish we didn't dress up like that…" Kanako confessed.  
"WHAT THE MEANING OF THIS!" Kohei screamed.  
"CAKEY YOU MONSTER!"  
"WE COULD HAVE SCORED THAT NIGHT!"  
"There's no d-deeper meaning behind it!" Aina turned red.  
The 3 girls grinned, "I wonder why~?" "Maybe there was someone she really didn't want to get taken~?"  
"IF YOU SAY ANY MORE I'LL GET REALLY MAD!" Aina squeaked.  
"Sayy, if you don't have a girlfriend, want to go drinking later with us?" Kanako suggested.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

Author's Note: Got something SPICY in this chapter. Thanks a bunch, to all that reviewed as always uwu, keep it up! Not going to delay you for any longer, now, enjoy my best written chapter…

*Chisa's PoV*

"Sayy, if you don't have a girlfriend, want to go drinking later with us?" I heard Kanako say to Iori and Kohei. My chest tightened, for what reason, I have no clue. I started to sweat, cold sweat, hands started to tremble. I wasn't sick, was I? I don't want him to accept her proposal, I had a strong hunch that, under that thick makeup, they are all very pretty. I have never felt this way before, and worse, I don't know what it was.

"Ah, it's a shame but, I'll have to say no to that." Iori spoke, running his hands through his hair, a habit he picked up recently. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "After all, I gotta make sure Chisa here doesn't get hit on." My heart skipped a beat. Iori is not going just for me? Now, that he said that, I feel bad that he's not going.  
"H-Hey Iori, you can go if you want to, don't worry so much about me."  
"No, it's not that…, I've got some other reasons as well…" He muttered out the last part.  
"Other reasons?"  
He shuddered, "Nothing."  
Kanako turned to Kohei with hopeful eyes, "Sorry, I've got a mission I have to complete."  
"Mission?"  
"Yes. I must go watch the concert tonight!"

"Ah, but if you two change your minds, we will still be there at bar." Keiko said.  
"Alright, alright, all of you get to your stations, we will be opening our doors soon." Aina said.

I soon realised that I didn't know what the hell I was supposed to do. Aina only told me briefly on what to do. "Just act like a maid in those animes that Kohei likes to watch. Oh, and don't hit the people!" Like, what maids in which anime? And I'm not that aggressive, am I? Looking around, I saw the three girls elegantly moving around, carrying trays of drinks with ease and finesse, "Here you go master, your drink." Kanako said politely with a bow. M-Master? I can't say that! "Here you are master! Teehe~" Aina giggled as she did the same. My jaw dropped, they are doing this like it's a routine. Oh! The makeup. With the makeup, no one will know who I really am! Maybe I can do this after all…

I heard the jingle of the door, so I steeled my nerves and turned around,  
"We can go to the concert later if you want—"

"Good evening Mast—" Walking in were Iori's friends, all four of them. "—er…" They looked at me, then looked around, then back at me. They turned around and walked off stiffly.  
"Yeah, as I was saying, there is a concert later on..."  
"…I can't believe there are more girls that wear that kind of monster makeup."  
"Is it a girl thing?"  
"Beats me, maybe it's better to stay single."

My eyes started to twitch. I don't know if I should be glad that they left or be angry that they just practically called me a monster. Although if I were a boy I would probably do the same. Sighing, I went back to my station to wait for another customer. I glanced around to find Iori. I spotted him a few tables away, tending to a group of girls. The girls were very obviously flirting with him and he seemed to be responding back. His smile never wavered as he flirted back. I clutched at my chest, the uncomfortable feeling returning. He is actually a lot more good looking than people give him credit for. And especially today, with his hair messier and longer than usual and that suit that he is wearing only complements him more. Of course, I would never say this out loud, his ego would go through the roof. The girls seemed to ask him something, he took out his phone and passed it to them. He looked like he just won a lottery.

I turned away, unable to look anymore. My heart was racing. No more. I heard another jingle of the door. I braced myself again and turned around, "Good evening Mast – Miss?" In front of me was a girl? Or a guy? I don't know. I can't tell. He/she had a feminine face, shoulder length blonde hair with brown eyes. Couldn't have a college student, maybe a high schooler?

He/she giggled. "I'm a boy."  
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." I Apologised.  
"Think nothing of it, people get confused all the time." He waved it off.  
"Please follow me to your seat Master." I lead the way.  
"Thank you very much."  
"Please, take a seat. What would you like Master?"  
"Um, could you drop the 'Master' thing? You are older than me and its weird that someone calls me 'Master'"  
"Really? Oh, thank you. I hated saying that word."  
"Its fine," He giggled. "Any way, can I have a Matcha Latte?"  
"Of course…" I prodded for a name.  
"Naomi Otoya" He replied, "But you can call me Naomi."  
"Then, you can call me Chisa." I smiled and went off to give his order.

He seems polite and nice… After two minutes, his latte was done. I placed it on the tray and walked back. I saw that everyone was doing well, Aina was confident as ever after doing her makeup, Kohei had struck up a conversation with some of the customers talking about 'Lalako-tan'. Iori was called over by another group of girls. I sighed, brushing that thought out of my mind.

"Here you go Naomi-kun, one Matcha Latte."  
"Ah, thank you very much."  
He sipped on his drink, "Wow, this taste good, I'll have to thank the barista later."  
"I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

"Alright girls its time, gather here." Aina said loudly.  
"Time?" Questioned Naomi.  
"I'm just as confused," I muttered but walked away nevertheless, "I'll be back!"

"What is it Aina." I asked  
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, this is the second half of the program for today, all the girls have to take off their makeup." Aina explained.  
"Really? Thank god. This stuff is itchy."  
"Now go wash up quickly, your _friend_ is waiting for you." Aina sang.  
" _Friend_?"  
"You know, the cute boy you were talking to."  
"Oh, he's alright I guess…"

I got to the sink, turned on the tap and began washing the makeup off. "Urg, this makeup is so hard to wash off, it's like water proof!" I grumbled. Kanako, Keiko and Kiyoko who were beside me seemed like they weren't much better.

"I know! It has to be bad for our skin." Keiko agreed.

We all nodded. After five painful minutes, my fingers were shrivelled, but at least the makeup was gone. The three girls were still trying to get some bits and pieces clean. "I'll be going first, good luck with the makeup!"

I hurried out, worried that Naomi had already left. I sighed in relief, he was still sitting at his table. Walking briskly back to his table, I caught Iori staring at me from a corner. The girls that were clinging to him were apparently gone. He would probably say some embarrassing thing about me in a maid's uniform, so I acted like I didn't see him. Despite that, his intense gaze bore into my shoulders, I shuddered involuntarily.

"I'm back."  
"C-Chisa-chan?!"  
"Yup." I laughed at his surprised face.  
"I-I, did't w-wha?"  
I fell into an uncontrollable fit of giggles. His shocked face, and stuttered speech was too much to handle.  
"I-I never thought you would be this pretty…"

*Iori's Pov*

"I-I never thought you would be this pretty…" The nerves of that little prick…

I clenched my fist harder. Nails digging into my palm. I was sure it was bleeding. But I couldn't care less. This **bitch** was full on flirting with Chisa. Not to mention they are on first name basis. To make it worse, Chisa didn't even seem bothered by it! I don't know why I was so angry, why I was fuming, why I wanted to punch that guy in his perfect teeth. Worse, Chisa blushed! She fucking blushed. I could feel my knuckles turning white, my teeth were about to shatter from gritting too hard to remain silent. My face was probably red from the not so suppressed rage. I don't know what was happening to me, but I must fix it.

I can't take it anymore. I stomped towards them. I swung my arms around Chisa's neck surprising both her and _lil bitch.  
_ "Chisa, this guy bothering you?" I asked, not even bothering to look at _him.  
_ "Er, who are you and how can I help you?" _lil bitch_ asked.  
"I'm Chisa's boyfriend and you can get out of the café." I spoke, anger lacing itself in my words.  
"Woah woah, Iori, calm down, its fine." Chisa protested.  
"Its fine?" I raised my eyebrow, trying dearly to supress the raging storm inside me.  
"Yeah, its fine, so please calm down." She pleaded.

I felt my anger dissipating, my clenched fist slowly unclenching. She had this effect on me. I didn't know if it was good or bad, but it felt natural…

"Sorry about that…, This is Iori, and he's only pretending to be my boyfriend to avoid unnecessary flirting." Chisa explained.  
"Oh, then, nice to meet you Iori-kun, I'm Naomi Otoya, you can call me Naomi though." He grinned.  
I scoffed and walked off. "H-Hey! Iori! That's rude!" Chisa shouted over to me. I pretended not to hear her. Oh, how much I wanted to punch him in the face. You know that kind of feeling? His shit eating grin. "Naomi huh?" I muttered, "I'll call you _lil bitch_ then."

"Kohei," I called out to him.  
"Hm?" He looked up from the manga that he was reading.  
I am actually surprised that he didn't see any of that.  
"We're done with this, lets go to your concert." I said, no, more like commanded.  
He asked no questions as he followed me to the toilet to change to our clothes we came in.

"Kitahara, what was all that about?" He asked.  
"So, you did see it." I sighed.  
"No shit, you were radiating so much killing intent. What happened?" He asked genuinely concerned.  
"The little shit was flirting with Chisa." I gritted out  
"That's all? Usually you don't really care."  
"Problem here is Chisa didn't seem to mind either and worse, they are on first name basis!"  
"Oo, sounds like someone is _jealous~_ " Kohei smirked.  
"No that's not it, Nanaka would kill me if she found out a boy was getting friendly with Chisa." I said.  
"You don't sound too convincing…"  
Right? I couldn't even convince myself.  
"I'm serious."

We changed back to our original clothes and walked out. We folded our uniforms neatly and left it on the counter.

"Iori? Kohei? Where are you two going?" Aina asked.  
I looked around, I couldn't see the two anywhere…  
"We're done with this place." I said darkly, leaking a bit of killing intent.  
Aina visibly flinched. I would have felt bad, but once I am pissed, I become unaware, oblivious to emotion. I walked off. I could hear Kohei apologising to Aina for leaving early and for my behaviour.

"Dude, you need to chill, Aina actually looked scared." Kohei ran up to me.  
"You're right, I need to beat the kid to a pulp."  
"You are overreacting Kitahara, he's only in high school!"  
"Whatever, let's just go watch that concert." I said.  
"Hey, don't worry about it, Kotegawa isn't even interested in boys, at most they will be friends, besides, she is like a few years older than him." Kohei explained.  
"Y-Yeah, she's not interested in boys, only diving…" I muttered, trying to convince myself that nothing will happen between them. What was I so worried about, of course she won't date him or anything like that. I'm just paranoid. Right?

"Sorry, but staff are still setting up the stage, and you will need a ticket to go see the concert." A security guard stopped us.  
"A TICKET?!" Kohei screamed.  
"So the one we used to get into the festival isn't enough?" I asked.  
"Yeah, they had to use 2 ticket systems so that people don't flood to attend Mizuki Kaya's concert." The security guard explained.  
"NOOOOOO!" Kohei fell to the floor and started to bang his fist on the concrete.  
"All I wanted is to see Kaya-sama's concert!" He started to sob at this point.

The guard pointed at Kohei, "Is he alright?" He asked worriedly.  
"He should be fine." I assured him.  
"Oi, Kohei, maybe we can ask Azusa for help, I heard she is working as part of the staff team."  
"R-Really?" He asked with wide eyes.  
"Yes really…" I sighed, I have enough to deal with already, "Now stop acting like a three-year-old."

"Hello Azusa?"  
"Yes, what do ya need Iori?"  
"You see Kohei really wants to see the concert so I was wondering if you could pull some strings for us."  
"Hm…, I could let both of you in if you help set up the stage."  
"Sure, no problem, thanks a lot Azusa."  
"I'll get to the entrance in like 2 minutes."

"Hey you two!" Azusa waved  
"Hey Azusa, about time you got here, this guy wouldn't stop hugging me."  
"C'mon you two, the stage's that way." She laughed.  
In a cloud of smoke, Kohei was gone, a distant, "HERE I COME KAYA-SAMA" could be heard.  
"So, what's wrong?" Azusa asked as we started walking.  
"Huh? How did you know?" I was surprised she knew something was up since she was not present at the café.  
"I could tell by the way you talk Iori, and you look a little stressed out." Azusa explained.  
"Well…,"

I told her everything. She listened through it all, not interrupting once to ask a question.  
"Ah, I see…"  
"So, to distract myself, I thought I would come to the concert with Kohei…" I concluded.  
"Don't be so stressed about it, it will be fine."  
"By the way…," She added, "If you want, my previous offer still stands…" She said seductively, while biting her lips.  
"A-Ah…" I turned away, to hide my red face.  
She laughed again, "You're too easy to tease."

"A-Anyway, we just have to help set up right?" I composed myself.  
"Yup. Look at Kohei go!" She pointed to our right.  
He face scrunched up in concentration as he carried multiple metal poles under each arm.  
"That's the first time I've seen him so serious…" I muttered, slightly in awe.  
"Not to mention, people are looking up to him, as he gives out directions." Azusa added.  
"So you better get going." Azusa said.  
"Oh, alright…" I said half-heartedly.

"…That guy is really cool isn't he…"  
"He seems like the cool silent, handsome type…"

My eyes started to twitch.  
"Well, I can't let myself be outdone by him." I stretched my arms.  
"Well, I'll be going back to my work then." Azusa laughed.  
I rolled up my short sleeves, so my arms could move about easier. I glanced at the stage plan and got a rough idea of what to do. Picking up the parts with both hands, I made my way to the stage. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It was just simple assembly and rearrangement. Despite that, I was starting to sweat. I don't claim to be the most athletic person, but I am probably more fit than the average male my age.

"Oh, Kitahara, good work on the stage." Kohei complimented.  
"You're not doing too bad yourself."  
"We are practically done with everything. We can relax now…" Kohei let out a sigh.  
"How long have we been working for?"  
"About an hour and a half, give or take a few minutes."  
"That long?" I asked shocked.  
"Time flies when you are having fun…" He replied dreamily.  
"That may be true for you."

"Um, excuse me."  
I turned around, to see a group of three stunning girls. One girl stood out however, she had pink hair, with pink eyes to match. Her hair was parted in the middle and was done up in a braid. She was wearing a simple t-shirt that said 'Oumi Staff team'. The other two were pretty, but nothing special, one had brown hair and the other had blonde hair. They were the girls from earlier that were fawning over Kohei.

I let out an inaudible sigh, "Kohei, looks like your fan club is here, I'll be going then." I started to walk off.  
"Actually we wanted to talk to both of you…" Pink hair girl said.  
"Huh?" I was shocked.  
"We were wondering if you two would like to go drinking with us?  
"Us?"  
I am dreaming. I had to be. Right? This whole day is just a dream, nothing more. I mean how many surprising things could happen in a day? Everything from getting numbers from girls that were at the café, to the incident with _lil bitch_ and now this? Not to mention the aggression I had shown. It had to be a dream, a nightmare. I'll wake up any second now. Right?

"Helloo?" Pink haired girl waved her slender hands to get my attention.  
She huffed, and cross her arms, "Are we that uninteresting that you won't even give us a reply?"  
"Oh, sorry, I spaced out for a second. But don't worry, it's just a dream."  
"Dream? Are you alright?"  
"Let me handle this…" I heard Kohei sigh.  
"Ow! You bitch the hell was that for!" He just pinched my hand.  
"See, it's no dream, this is all real."  
"Oh, shit. Uh, sorry about that I guess, I couldn't believe that you three pretty ladies would want to drink with us." I said offhandedly.  
"H-Huhhh?!" Their faces turned red.  
"Any, a-anyway, is that a yes?" Blondie asked.  
"I'm sorry, but I've got to see the concert, I need to support Kaya-sama to the best of my ability!" Kohei said.  
They turned to me with puppy dog eyes, I got a feeling of déjà vu, "I'm sorry girls, but maybe later?" I gave an apologetic smile, scratching the back of my head. They pouted. Jesus Christ, that's hot. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts.

"Aww, that's too bad. Anyway, we'll see you around!" Pinky waved.  
"What time does the concert start?" I asked Kohei.  
"It should start in about fifteen minutes."  
I looked around, people are already starting to stream in. It was a lot more crowded than I thought it would be.  
"I never would have guessed that there are this many people coming to see her…"  
"Hmph, it's only expected of Kaya-sama."

"So, what so exciting about this?" I asked. We are currently in the middle of the concert. The sky had darkened fully however, the bright festival lights shined with brilliance, it was still very visible. Not getting a reply, I looked around to find Kohei. He probably went off to get closer to the stage. Letting out a sigh, I started to make my way out of the crowd. Maybe I should apologise to Chisa for acting so rude. I decided that it would be for the best, so I gave her a call.

No answer.

I called again.

No answer.

I started to worry. It wasn't like her to ignore phone calls. I stopped walking and called again.

No answer.

I bit my lower lip. Cold sweat starting to from. No, she's fine, she's just probably in the toilet. There's nothing to worry about. I couldn't risk it, I dialled Aina's number, and was going to hit call when.

"I'm glad that you like it Chisa-chan."  
"You really didn't have to go out of your way just to win me this plush toy, Naomi-kun."  
"But you were looking at it so intently I just had to win it for you!"

I turned around painfully slow. My eyes widened. I was living a nightmare. Every word stung only fuelling the fire that burned inside of me. Every phrase was like gasoline to it, my fists began to clench, and my jaw rooted. Carelessly, I dropped my phone.

*Thud*

"You're too kin—"  
We locked eyes. Hers widened in response. Burning rage hissed through my body like deathly poison, screeching a demanded release in the form of unwanted violence. It was like a volcano erupting; fury sweeping off me like ferocious waves. I can't take it anymore.

"Iori wait! —"

I ran. Had no end in mind. Just ran. Had no idea where I was going. Keep running. Is this what you call running away from your problems? My chest started to hurt. I slowed down, gasping for breath. How long had I been running for? I reached into my pocket for my phone—oh wait, I dropped it back then. Great. I looked around to get my bearings. To my right was a bar. Probably the one the girls were talking about. Having nothing to do, I walked in.

I sat down at one of the tables, "A glass of the hardest alcohol you have." I said to the bartender. He brought it to me without question.

"Another one."

I gulped it all down. It burned the back of my throat. I didn't care. I don't know why I should care. I don't even know why I reacted like that. Damm, today was full of mysteries. I chuckled. Not the happy chuckle though.

"Hey, you must be the guy from earlier."  
I looked up to see who had the pleasure of intruding my alone time. It was the pink haired girl from earlier.  
"Oh, hey Pinky…"  
"Who you are calling Pinky?" She teased.  
Once she saw my current state, she got worried, "Hey, what's wrong? Where's your friend?"  
"You know, the usual…" I slurred.  
I felt something wet drip down my face,  
"Hey! Whats wrong?!" She asked with genuine concern.

"Huh? What's this?" I wiped it off, but more came rolling down. Was I crying? Tears rolled down my face uncontrollably. My eyes drip with tears. My walls, the walls that hold me up, make me strong just... collapse. Moment by moment, they fall. Salty drops fall from my chin, drenching my shirt.

Suddenly, I was enveloped in a hug. The scent of lavender invaded my nose, pink strands of hair blocked my vision. Despite the heaviness in my stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against mine. I sunk into the warmth of her embrace.

"Its going to be fine, its going to be fine, its going to be fine…" She said while rubbing the back of my head. Her soothing voice calmed the embers in my chest. I slowly returned the embrace and sunk my head deeper into her shoulders. "Let it out…" So, I did.

We stayed there for what seemed like hours. Eventually, I stopped crying and came back to my senses.

"I'm really sorry about that… I don't even know you and here you are consoling me…" I apologised.  
"It's alright, don't worry about it." She laughed it off.  
"Of course I'll worry about it, here I am, a complete mess, and a stranger is comforting me, not to mention your shirt is soaked with my tears now…"  
"Then maybe you could repay me by giving me your name and number." She asked cheekily.  
"That's it?"  
"Mhm."

"Then," I stood up, "Nice to meet you, I'm Iori Kitahara."  
"Sakurako Busujima, the pleasure is all mine." She smiled.  
"So, Busuji—"  
"Nonono! Don't call me by that!" She whisper-screamed.  
"Huh, why not?"  
"B-Because b-busu means ugly…" She muttered.  
"It's not something you should be concerned about, no one who looks at you would think you're ugly." I said.  
"You really think so?"  
"Of course!"

"So, what do I call you?"  
"You can call me Sa-Sakurako…, if you like."  
"Sakurako then,"  
"Can I call you Iori then?"  
"Sure! No problem."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Sakurako asked.  
I let out a sigh, "Y-You don't have to if –" She blurted out.  
"No, it's fine now, you really calmed me down."  
I took a deep breath and spilled out everything. Everything since I got to the carnival, and until I ran here. I finished on a shaky tone.

I was enveloped in another hug, "I'm so sorry, if I had known, I wouldn't have asked you out to the club!"  
"Hey, its fine, but c'mon who's consoling who." I joked.  
She punched my arm, "Don't say that…"  
"I'm kidding." I laughed.  
"About our phone number…," She started.  
"Yeah…, I dropped my phone back then. Pass me yours, ill write my number and my home phone."  
"O-Oh yeah."  
"There."

From the corner of my eye, I saw 2 figures running into the bar. My anger swelled at the sight of _him_. Both came running into the bar. Sakurako must have noticed because she stood up and placed her hands on my shoulder. "Iori, don't, he's not worth it…" He linked his arm with Chisa and started to lead her through the crowd. His eyes locked with mine. Anger burned through me. No, no more. I could see Sakurako starting to panic, "Iori, calm dow—"

I slammed my lips to hers.

The very moment Chisa turned and looked at me.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6.

Author's note: SORRY! I'M SO SORRY THAT I KEPT YOU, FELLOW GRAND BLUE FANS WAITING FOR SO LONG! I was so busy with school that I couldn't keep to the deadline I set for myself. It also didn't help that I caught a cold too. I'll try to update once a week, but if I don't manage to, please bear with me, but rest assured that I will not leave this story hanging :))) Now, with that out of the way, please enjoy this chapter!

*Chisa's PoV*

Never did I expect to run into Iori. After his episode at the café, I was shocked. I did not know Iori had that side to him, although I appreciate him looking out for me, the way he acted was just so rude. Naomi and I hit it off right away, because we had a common interest in diving. It was really refreshing to befriend someone who had as much passion as me towards diving.

However, when I saw Iori's eyes, his broken eyes… I saw the pain, the confusion, the anger and most of all, betrayal. He ran off before I could complete my sentence. My chest ached, as I desperately tried to reach him. It was to no avail, there were too many people blocking my way. "Iori!" I screamed.

Naomi placed his hands on my shoulder comfortingly. He didn't say anything but pointed at Iori's phone on the ground. I took it gingerly, it had some scuffs, no cracks thankfully. As I looked at the screen, I froze. Hands started to tremble, guilt welled up inside. I felt sick to the bone. I hurriedly took out my phone from my pocket. Eyes widened, it was all my fault… On the screen was three missed calls from Iori…

"I-It's all my fault… It's all my fault…" I muttered. The broken, shattered look in his eyes were because of me. The anger, the pain, the betrayal, it was all because of me… I had been too engrossed with the conversation with Naomi that I didn't even notice my phone ring, not to mention the noisy atmosphere.

"He probably thinks I ignored him purposely to hang out with you…" I confessed. The aching in my chest intensified. The memory of his face contorted with pain and betrayal kept rewinding in my head. I clenched my phone tightly, hands trembling.

"Chisa-chan, please don't blame yourself, it's not your fault. Let's try to talk things over with Iori-kun to clear things up okay?" Naomi said.

"Did you see which way he ran off to?" I asked.  
"I think he went this way." Naomi pointed in front.  
"Alright, let's find him." I stood up

I will clear up mess, I must. And maybe then, just maybe, I'll find some answers of my own… We searched for what seemed like hours to me, but it was probably only fifteen minutes. We made sure not to leave any stone unturned, searching every single shop that was open, we even went back to the café to ask if Iori was there. But there was no trace of him. The final place that was unchecked was a bar.

"He must be here, if he isn't here, he probably went home." I took a deep breath before I took a step forward into the bar. Or I would have but Naomi stopped me.

"Here," He clasped my hand, "there's a lot of people in there."  
He led the way into the bar. It's not my first time in a bar, but this bar is really packed with people. Finding Iori would be hard. We manoeuvred our way through the mass of people that were dancing and singing with their friends.

"Ow"  
"Sorry."  
"Pardon."  
"Sorry!"

"Hey, why did you stop?" I bumped into Naomi. He never responded so I turned around to look at where he was staring at.

My chest felt like it was ripping apart, the tendons in my heart snapping off one by one. I fell to the ground. Why am I like this? What is happening to me? Why does my heart _hurt so much?_ Why was Iori _kissing some girl?_ My mind was like an icy wasteland, the wind howling in my soul and icy tentacles wrapping around my heart so tightly it almost stopped beating.

I looked up to see if they had stopped. That proved to be a fatal mistake since they were still not done sucking their faces off. His eyes were closed, oblivious to the surroundings, oblivious to Naomi, oblivious to me… A lone tear traced down my cheek, and just like that, the dam behind my eyes opened. I could feel Naomi embracing me as I wept. Muffled sobs emitting from my mouth, although not a single soul apart from Naomi heard it.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." Naomi said softly.  
I nodded, still clinging onto him. Why am I crying? Why should I care? It's just Iori… Yeah, it's nothing to get so worked up… He can do whatever he wants, and I can do whatever I want. Yeah, nothing to care about…

I toss and turn on the bed. My blanket strewn on the floor, but I didn't bother to pick it up. Eleven o'clock morphed into twelve and then one. The time trickled by, but I can't fall asleep. I tried to pace my breathing, drank a glass of milk, washed my face and heck, even tried counting sheep. But to no avail. My mind would not clear up. Events from earlier still linger very freshly in my mind. I reached home around ten and immediately went to bed. If I had socialised with Onee-chan or anyone else, they would start to ask questions that I am not ready to answer. Since then, I have been trying to sleep. I heard Iori come home around eleven. Today was just a huge mess, if we hadn't gone to the stupid festival, none of this would have happened. No tears would have been shed and everyone would still be happy. I just wish…

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

I jolted awake. I fell asleep? My eyes were still heavy although I got around, maybe, six hours of sleep? I crawled out of bed and threw my blanket that was on the floor back on the bed. I trudged into my bathroom, turned on the tap and let the cool water wash away the cobwebs. After doing my daily routine, I step out of my room to face a new day.

"Good Morning Onee-chan."  
"Ah, Good morning Chisa-chan! Please wait a while longer, I'm almost done with breakfast."

I took a seat and realised the situation that I was in. Iori is bound to come any minute now, what will I do? What will I say? I cursed mentally, I can't just start ignoring him… Besides, I should be the one apologising right? I made him run off, with those shattered eyes… And it's not like he saw me at the bar… Right? I'm overthinking too much I should just—

"Good Morning…"

I whisked my head around. Speak of the devil, we locked eyes. His lips parted. My aching returned. His hair was still styled like yesterday's, messy and hot— what. I did not say that, that was someone else, nope. Not me. Nada.

"Good Morning Iori-kun!" Greeted Nanaka from the kitchen.

That snapped me out of my inner turmoil. "Iori, can we talk…?" I asked meekly.  
He stiffened up, took a deep breath, "Yeah…, we should."

We were now in Iori's room, it was a lot tidier then I expected. He even did his bed – something I (usually) forgot to do.

"Listen…, I'm sorry for ignoring your phone calls. I didn't mean to, it was so loud at the festival I couldn't hear your phone call… I really didn't mean to make you upset Iori." I stared into his eyes pleadingly, the numbness in my chest returned.

His face softened almost instantly. "I'm sorry too… I ran off without hearing you out. It's just that you were with _that guy_ it looked like you were ignoring me to have fun with him..." He spat the last part out with distaste.

"Don't ever do that again! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" I whisper-screamed. Tears threatening to fall out.

Iori walked up to me slowly and pulled me closer to him wrapping his arms around me. His embrace was warm, and his (not so) big, strong arms seemed very protective when wrapped around my frail body. The world around me melted away as I squeezed him back, the numbness, the pain, the aching washed away. I breathed in his musky scent, not wanting the moment to end.

Still hugging me, he said, "D-did you see… at the bar?"

It felt like a knife piercing through my heart, remembering the scene. Iori and the pink haired girl, sucking each other faces off. I unconsciously clenched my fist around the back of his shirt.

"Yeah…, I did…" Why do I feel so uncomfortable?  
"God I'm so sorry! I saw the two of you holding hands walking into the bar…, I don't know what came over me—"  
"No…, you don't have to be sorry, it's not like we are actually dating…" Right?  
"R-Right-t…"

"Can we stay like this for a bit longer Chisa…?" He spoke softly, hot breath tickling my ears.  
It sent shivers down my spine. "Yea…" I managed out.

He wrapped around my frail figure tightly. I responded by burying my head into the nape of his chest. My legs turned to mush, they could barely support my weight. I was practically leaning onto Iori. Why am I reacting like this? A few months ago, I could barely stand being in the same room as Iori but now…

The door swung open, "Iori-kun, have you seen Chisa—" Nanaka came in.

Iori let go of me in a flash, the lack of warmth was immediate. I would be lying if I said that Iori letting go of me so fast didn't hurt me. I understand that Onee-chan is here but, am I that repulsive? Would he have rather been hugging _that pink haired girl?_ There's something wrong with me, I've been getting some weird thoughts lately. Weird is a mild way of saying it…

"A-Ah, w-was I in-interrupting somet-thing?" Nanaka stuttered, her face turning an unhealthy shade of red.

"N-NOTHING!" We protested. I could feel heat rising to my cheeks as I realised the depth of the situation.

"I came t-to tell y-you that breakfast is re-ready…".  
"I can't believe they are really d-dating…" She turned around and staggered off.

"…"  
"Looks like we have another misunderstanding huh?" Iori laughed heartily.

His laugh, his smile, the way his his crinkles up when grins… What is happening to me?

*Iori's PoV*

So many things going through my mind, thoughts going at Mach 1 speed, I could barely process them. The embrace I shared with Chisa, was so… words can't describe how bloody good that felt. And they also can't describe how wrong that was. How could I think such things of my cousin, even if we are not related by blood. Then again, she didn't say no. URG, I shook my head to get rid of these weird thoughts.

Speaking of weird, yesterday was full of weird. Which reminds me, I must apologise to Aina for acting so rude. I felt my pockets, dammit. I forgot I still don't have my phone.

"Is something wrong Iori?" Chisa asked, we were on our way to school.  
I scratched my head and said nervously, "I lost my phone yesterday…"  
"Oh! I have it in my bag, give me a second."

After rummaging through her bag, she pulled out a black phone.  
"Wow, I thought it lost it for sure…"  
The phone had some scuffs, but no visible cracks anywhere.  
"I turned your phone off to save some battery, sorry I forgot to pass it to you this morning."  
"Nah, thanks for finding my phone. Um, let me treat you to something, is there anything you want?"  
"No, there's really no need—"  
"C'mon, name anything!"  
"Er, maybe some ice cream?"  
"Ice cream? Sounds good, I'll buy two for us later at break time okay?"

-line break-

"Oi! Kitahara!"  
I turned around to be greeted by Kohei who was still wearing his 'gear' from yesterday.  
"Why didn't you answer my calls?!"  
"Eh, I kinda lost my phone yesterday…, but Chisa found it, sorry if I had worried—"  
"I WANTED TO TELL YOU ABOUT KAYA-SAMA SAYING HI TO ME!" Comical tears flowing from his eyes like waterfalls.  
"…and here I thought you were worried about me."

"Have you and Kotegawa made up?"  
"Yeah we made up, everything is fine between us now."  
"Speaking of her, where is she?"  
"She needed to go to the toilet, her bag is here though."  
"How about the guy she was taking with at the festival?"  
"I still hate his guts." I said blankly.  
"Oo, looks like someone is jealous~" He sang.  
I scrunched up my eyebrows, "Jealous? Why would I be jealous?"  
"Maybe because some high schooler is stealing your girl?"  
"Chisa's not _my girl_."  
"Reaaaly? Because you sure act like she is…"

I shook my head, do I really act like that? No, I'm sure I don't. Seeing that the lecturer wasn't here yet, I took out my phone and turned it on. Three notifications appeared on the screen. The first one was a miscall form Kohei. The other two were from an unknown number. One was a miscall and the other was a text.

'Hey! It's Sakurako! If you are reading this, it means you found your phone! Let's meet up soon okay? Text me! :)'

My fingers brushed over my lips, I could feel the kiss from yesterday still lingering. Sakurako…, what a pretty name to match a pretty face…

 _The kiss was hard, rough, it was full of neediness. Full of hunger, lust and desire. It was not how I thought my first kiss was going to be like. We parted, trying to catch our breath. Our foreheads touching. I stared deep into her bright pink orbs, she stared into mine. I cupped her cheek that was slowly turning red. I smiled at her before slowly leaning in again. This time she captured my lips with a kiss. This was a gentler, more passionate kiss. The world slowly disappearing around us, along with all our worries, our troubles and our problems. I honestly never knew a kiss so innocent could be so intimate and electrifying. Her lips were moving in perfect sync, my hands feeling her waist; I pulled her closer, the kiss deeper, more passionate. I felt her hands on the back of my neck play with the ends of my hair. A smile grew on my face as it started to tickle, finally we pulled apart._

I turned red at the memory. I was never the bold kind; the alcohol must have played a huge part towards my actions

"I'm back." Chisa said, knocking me out of my head trip. She waved to Kohei and took a seat next to me.

"The lecturer is taking awfully long today…" I began.  
"Hm, by the way, did you two finish your homework?" Chisa asked.  
"Yup, I finished mine before we left for the carnival." I nodded  
"SHIT!" Kohei eyes widened.  
"I WAS TOO BUSY THINKING OF KAYA-SAMA THAT I FORGOT TO FINISH IT!"

Chisa and I let out a sigh, "You do know, that this assignment is supposed to be a freebie? It's worth ten percent of our overall grade…" Chisa exasperated.  
Kohei got down on his knees and begged, "Please let me copy—"  
"Alright class, sorry I'm late. Now, please pass your homework to the front…" The lecturer said.

A look of horror dawned onto Kohei's face.  
"Well Kohei, looks like we can't help you this time..." I mocked.  
"KITAHARAA!"

"I can't believe Kohei actually received grace time to finish the work…"  
"Well, the lecturer did say Imamura-kun had to submit it to him by this evening."  
"Anyway, what flavour ice-cream do you want?"  
"Ice-c?, Oh, I don't know"  
"Well you got a few minutes to decide, the stall is quite a walk away."

"Hey Iori! Haven't seen you in a while." Greeted the ice cream vendor.  
"Sure has, today I'd like a double scoop chocolate ice cream."  
"Coming right up! And how about your girlfriend?"  
"G-girl-f-friend?" Chisa and I stuttered.  
"She's not my g-girlfriend…"  
"He's not my b-boyfriend…"

"Oh! Sorry about that, its just that you two look so comfortable around each other…" He apologised.  
"I'm making this worse, aren't I?" He added, noticing our increasingly flushed faces.

"I-I would like a strawberry cone please."  
"Of course, here, I'll give you an extra scoop because of the inconvenience I caused you two." He handed us the ice cream cones.  
"That'll be four dollars."  
I handed Chisa my ice-cream cone and paid him.  
"Thank you come again!" He waved at us.

"Let's go sit down over there." I pointed towards a bench facing the sea. It really is a beautiful place. The trees gave just enough shade so that the lighting was perfect. The smell of freshly cut grass mixed with the saltiness of the sea invaded my nostrils. An elderly couple were looking over the everlasting waters, laughing, as if recalling something from their youth.

"Woah…"  
"Wow…"

"I never knew there was a view like this." I said, mesmerised by the sight. Slumbering in its blue robe, the sea greeted us, waves lapping the shore gently.  
"Right? It's so calming, it makes me forget about all my troubles…" Agreed Chisa, letting out a soft sigh.  
"I can kind of see why you are obsessed with the ocean now." I said before licking my ice-cream. Immediately, a burst of cold sweet chocolate hit my taste buds. In my mouth it turned to liquid and let me discover new pleasure. "Hmmm! This ice-cream never gets old."

We sat down and slipped into some playful banter. We bounced remarks between ourselves like a kid's rubber ball. I was never sure if we really got wittier as the evening wore on or if it was just us being high on endorphins.

Before we knew it, the sun was already starting to go down. My stomach was hurting from all the laughter that ensued from before.

"We should head back home now Chisa." I stood up.  
She got up and stretched, "Ah, my back hurts for sitting down for so long."  
"It's almost six, let's get going."

On the way back to Grand Blue, I noticed Chisa was walking unusually slow, almost robotically, as if her brain was struggling to tell each foot to take the next step. It was as if she was in a stupor, deep in thought.

"Something wrong?" I asked.  
She flinched, snapping out of her thoughts, "Oh, I'm fine. I was just thinking that we haven't laughed like that for a long time…"  
"Now that I think about it, it's been almost ten years…" I mumbled.  
"Yeah. That's why I that really fun!" Chisa exclaimed, her lips lifted upward.

My heart seemed to stop beating for a moment. The way her orange orbs light up. The way her teeth are perfectly aligned. The warm glow her happiness gives. There was something about the way she smiled; butterflies fluttering in my stomach and the way the sun had somehow toppled down from the sky and made a home right here in my heart. She had the kind of smile that made you feel happy to be alive and it made me thankful that I am right here by her side.

"We're home!" Chisa and I said after walking into Grand Blue.  
"Welcome back, you two! Dinner is about done, Kohei-kun, Aina-chan and your senpais are all here!" Nanaka greeted.

Waiting for us at the dining table were the whole gang. "Yo Iori, Chisa!" Kotobuki-senpai greeted. "C'mon, we're getting hungry!" Tokita-senpai called out.

Aina and Azusa gave us a wave. Kohei was too busy reading a manga to notice us. That reminded me, I still had to apologise to Aina for acting up yesterday.

I went up to Aina who was engaging in a conversation with Azusa. They stopped and looked up at me when they saw I was approaching.  
"Hey Aina, about yesterday—"  
"Don't worry about it, I understand how you felt. Kohei filled Azusa-san and I about what happened…" She said softly to not let Chisa overhear our conversation.  
"S-Still, I'm sorry for acting like an asshole." I apologised.

"Itadakimasu!"  
"Hmmm! This taste delicious Nanaka-san!" Aina cheered.  
"It's quite nice." Kohei agreed.  
"That's Nanaka for you! She great at almost everything." I complimented.  
"As long as you guys enjoy the meal." She replied with a smile.

Everyone was engaged in a hearty conversation, each taking turns to talk about their day. It was a rare occasion for everyone to be gathered like this, so we were going to take full advantage of it.

"That's right!" Kohei exclaimed.  
Everyone stopped and gave their attention to Kohei.  
"I was thinking, next week…, you guys wanna go to an Elementary School?"

"…"

"An Elementary School?" Chisa asked.  
"Yes. An Elementary School."  
"To enrol or something?" Aina asked.  
"No. We're not enrolling."

"Hahaha, that sounds great."  
"I see, I see. An Elementary School." Aina laughed.  
"Isn't it great—"

"Okay, I'll draw his attention, in the meantime…" I whispered.  
"We know. We'll call the police." Aina replied.  
"Already on it." Chisa took out her phone.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! DON'T GET THE COPS INVOLVED IN SOMETHING THIS TRIVIAL!" Kohei protested.  
"Trivial…?"  
"I think this is a pretty serious matter…"  
"I have no intention of going along with your perverted behavior." I stated.  
"I am also against your suspicious actions." Aina agreed.  
Chisa nodded furiously.

"WHAT KIND OF MONSTER DO YOU GUYS THINK I AM?!" Kohei yelled.  
"To begin with, I have ABSOLUTELY ZERO interest in _3D_ Elementary Schoolers!"  
"What's up with that dangerous qualifier…" I asked.

"The thing is, I came across this the other day." Kohei explained, taking out his phone.  
"Spend the night in a school?" I read.  
"A disused school makes for a great lodge…" Chisa continued.  
"That seems fun!" said Aina.  
"I happened to stumble across it on the internet." Kohei said with a smug face.

"And if we have a certain number of people, it gets super cheap." He added.  
"Wow, this suggestion is too good to be coming from you…" I muttered.  
In his arrogant triumph, he smirked - just a small pouting of the lips; a narrowing of the eyes and a tilting of the head. "Hmph, don't flatter me."

"By the way, what were you searching for that caused you to stumble across something like this…" I interrogated.  
His arrogant triumph shattered, and he turned away.

"…"

"Putting aside how he found it, the idea itself isn't bad." I concluded.  
"That's true." Agreed Chisa.  
"Senpaaais! What do you think?" Aina called out.  
Azusa, Tokita-senpai, Kotobuki-senpai and Nanaka who were laughing at our interaction until now finally spoke up.  
"It fits perfectly. Let go." Tokita-senpai agreed.  
"Fits perfectly?" Kohei asked.

"Well, we were thinking of going on a club trip since it's summer and all…" Kotobuki-senpai explained with an overly wide grin.  
"So we've been looking for somewhere that we could all stay for cheap." Tokita-senpai continued, with the grin.

"A-Ah—" Aina started but was interrupted by Azusa.  
"Don't worry! It'll be fun!" Azusa said cheerfully.

The smiles on everyone's face, the laughter and joy we are all sharing… Everyone's problems all set aside to have fun. This is the dream life I was looking towards when I started University life. This certainly is a dream I would never want to wake up from.

But amidst the fun, something important slipped from my mind. Someone important slipped from my mind…


End file.
